Every Man has a Kelly
by QuirkyFoxGirl
Summary: “Every man has a Kelly.” That is the epic advice that Michael Scott relayed to his new boss, Ryan Howard in  a false attempt to be helpful. Little did he know, how true it rang.
1. It's like rain, on your wedding day

**Every Man has a Kelly**

**Summary:** "Every man has a Kelly." That is the epic advice that Michael Scott relayed to his new boss, Ryan Howard in attempt to be helpful, despite the fact Ryan wanted to talk about business strategy. It sounded like drivel to him at first, but slowly, he begins to see it made more sense than even Michael understood. [[KRyan, with hints of Dwanglea and implied Jam

**Type:** Romance/Angst…/ I will ATTEMPT Comedy, though I'm not a funny lady.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this show, or any of the characters. Wish I owned Steve Carrell though. I asked for him and Will Farrell for Christmas!

**Author's Note:** First Office fic! Please review, but be kind. Next chapters will not be this long, I promise! Sorry if you're not a Kelly/Ryan fan. I loved 'em!

**Chapter 1**

_It's like rain on you're wedding day..._

_

* * *

_

[Camera focuses on still shot of Ryan, who is dressed in a sharp suit, very suave looking. He's standing in front of Michael's glass. Michael can be seen behind the glass staring. It is unreadable as to whether it a passionate stare, or an envious one.

"Yeah, I'm the new corporate manager of Dunder-Mifflin. Never thought I'd get it, but all my professors at business school told me it would be a good move. No one was as shocked as me. Well maybe.." Ryan clears his throat, and motions backwards with his eyes. Michael doesn't notice. " Oh Kelly. Yeah, she was shocked too. But, we're not exactly together anymore…I broke up with her, finally. Like two minutes after getting the job. Less than that technically. Just figured, you know it would be bad for the image. Plus, a guy can only watch Say Anything a couple dozen times before going crazy anyways."

[CUTS to normal Scranton Office scene

"Michael, could we talk in your office for a bit?" Ryan said, and without waiting for his ex-boss's agreement, he went in and seated his self.

Michael rolled his eyes from his hunched over position at the reception counter where he'd stood shooting the breeze with Jim and Pam. "Boss man's a callin', better not keep him waiting. Don't want him to _dump_ me."

With his usual accuracy, Michael had gotten those words out as soon as Kelly was taking her coat off at the rack next to the door. She scurried off back to her corner as quickly as possible, and Pam and Jim exchanged sympathetic looks.

"I liked him better when he was a temp," Jim muttered truthfully.

Pam looked scornful as she watched Michael enter his office and close the door behind him. "I never liked him at all."

"Sorry it took me so long Chief. You're little exotic fling was taking up the whole atrium with her sulky little self." Michael said. What a way he had with making every situation awkward.

Ryan tried his best to look unaffected. "Uhm. First of all, I've asked you like a hundred times not to call me Chief. My name is Ryan, you can call me that. I mean, you called Jan, Jan." Michael held up a finger.

"You mean my girlfriend Jan? The one whose job you're delightfully enjoying? I called her Jan because she earned it. You've earned Chief."

Ryan looks dumbfounded by Michael's idiotic honesty as usual. He tried to shake it off though. He was the boss now. "And, addressing you're second comment. Kelly was my girlfriend. She wasn't a fling. Far from it."

That was true. When someone was just a fling, you weren't required to put up with all the stuff he had put up with from Kelly. The constant primping. She was never, ever ready for a date on time. The present a week he was required to buy her, just so she knew he still liked her. Her fetish with romance movies of _every_ genre. (John Cusack and Keanu Reeves could not act, and no, he would **never **_agree_ they were adorable) The collection of stuffed animals that he constantly had to make additions to. The fact she called him every night to outline a day he'd already been a part of. The eskimo kisses she preferred to give in public. The way she 'accidentally' used they're secret nicknames in front of all of his friends. The way Toby, Pam, and pretty much everyone else in the office would just seem to know every little detail about his entire life. In a nutshell, Kelly was exactly like the girl in 'How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days', when she was trying to lose the guy. Oh God. He shouldn't be able to make comparisons to a movie like that.

" Oh. Sore subject huh? You know Ryan, I might be just one of your lowly subjects, but if you ever want a heart to heart, I want you to know, I'm always up to rap. I'm a hip guy. I've experienced the ups and downs of that wicked dragon lady…the one you and I call love."

"Uhh…I don't know what to say. Thanks, maybe? But, I'm not here to talk about you, or me, or dragon ladies called desire or whatever, I'm here to talk about new business strategies. Particularly a new charity event. Now corporate liked the publicity of Casino Night, and they want to sponsor another charity event. Possibly something more formal this time, like a gala or something? Maybe you could get a committee together, work out all the details."

Michael was busy playing with his new Rubix cube Jan had bought for his desk. They'd gone and saw Pursuit of Happyness together, and he now idolized Will Smith. Not the character, the actor. He was convinced when he was able to complete the cube, he would be on the same level with his idol. He became vaguely aware of the fact that he was expected to offer a reply, and just went. "Yeah, sounds killer. I'm jiggy with it." Killer was his new word. The 'jiggy' could of course be attributed to the fact he had learned that Will Smith was an accomplished singer as well.

Pretty certain that this was the best he was going to get out of Michael for now, Ryan just decided to leave some of the notes he'd came up with for the event, and come back later. Or if possible, send an associate. "Okay. Good talk then. I'm going to run it by everyone else in the conference room real quick, so all of you can get a big group 'think-tank' going on, and then I'll head back to New York."

Michael coughed something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'glory hog', but Ryan just head over to the conference room in spite of it. He was about to come out and call everyone in, when Michael's voice over took his.

"Dunder-Mifflin family, I would like to ask that you please join me in the conference room. I ask you, because unlike some bosses, I enjoy you coming of you're own free will"

"So it's not mandatory?" Stanley said, looking up haphazardly from a large stack of papers.

"No, it's not 'mandatory' Stanley, it's just something you have to do." Michael said matter of factly.

A collective groan overtook most, except for Dwight who rushed to Michael's side, should he need any assistance.

Once they were all seated inside, Ryan nervously coughed as he scanned the small room of his former co-workers. Phyllis was a glow. She was always a glow these days. Angela was staring at Dwight with what one might take as disgust, but Ryan was now privy to understanding it was smoldering desire. (Something he actually wished he _didn't_ know) Dwight was all business. Ryan could just see in his eyes the need to challenge an authority he hadn't even set down yet. Pam and Jim were talking. Typical. Stanley looked the same. Creed looked shifty, and was holding a Rubix cube. Meredith looked surprisingly sober and alert. Weird. Kevin was snickering at God knows what. And Toby was talking and smiling…to Kelly.

Kelly looked maybe half the percentage of pure effervescence she usually did. As much as he tried not to, as the rest had filed in, she was the face he had centered on the most. He of course tactfully looked away anytime she turned her eyes forward. Toby seemed to be keeping her busy, and for a few seconds, he deeply wanted to know what they were talking about. What was Toby saying to bring out that free yet gentle laugh of hers? It wasn't hard. She found lots of things funny. Still, it troubled him more than it should. He had just decided to forget about it, when he noticed how pretty she looked today. Her hair was swept into a simple up-do, and she was wearing a simple peach blouse and black skirt with her favorite pumps. He remembered they were her favorites. Not long ago, he'd tripped over them on the way out of her bed one morning.

* * *

_Awaking in a sea of lavender colored flannel, as he was now accustomed to, Ryan rose up and rubbed his eyes vigorously. He heard the alarm clock going off, playing the chorus of 'You're The One That I Want', or one of those Grease songs. He reached over the sleeping body next to him and clicked it off. Before he could pull is arm back though, it was seized and he was pulled into a warm embrace from the girl whom he thought had been sleeping soundly. _

"_I tricked you didn't I?" She smiled sweetly at him, and laughed earnestly._

"_Yeah, you got me good" Ryan agreed congenially as he planted several soft kisses on her neck, not daring to let himself become aware of the fact that this was his girlfriend's idea of a brilliantly hilarious joke. That would just make him sad. _

"_I've been awake for like hours. You look really cute when you sleep. You mumble sometimes."_

_Ryan grimaced. He didn't like the thoughts of Kelly being privy to things he said that even he wouldn't remember. He tried to play down the 'weirded out' factor though, and kissed her softly on the lips hoping to make her forget anything he said. He didn't want to be more fuel for her diary than he already was. _

_In the mornings, he usually hated to be around Kelly. He wasn't a morning person at all, and she so was. Most times, she would wake him up by blaring her radio, as she got ready for work, or by tickling him. He was extremely ticklish. Thanks to her, everyone now knew that. _

_Today though, she didn't seem as annoying as usual. Giving her one last kiss, he slid over he, dodging her fingers, which were going immediately for his bare collarbone. A sensitive spot. He'd thought too soon. _

_As soon as his feet hit the floor, and he took one step, he hit the floor as well. And you would have thought somebody had shot him. He actually believed Kelly might have been crying as she scurried down to his side, and immediately started trying to 'console' him._

"_Kelly, I'm okay. Seriously. Just give me some breathing room"_

"_Oh, my poor brave baby" She continued to coo in his ear. Then she shrieked, and Ryan was pretty sure that hurt his ears far more than the fall had hurt his leg. "You're bleeding baby" _

_Ryan looked down to examine his ankle, and he was in fact starting to drip blood from a small snag in the skin. Before he could blink, Kelly had pulled tissues from her night stand was patting at the blood. _

"_I'm sorry, it's all my fault" She sniffed, and kissed the now dried cut. _

"_Don't be silly. I fell. I was clumsy, and it's my own fault. Not yours" He said logically, and pulled himself up to a sting position. _

"_No, you fell over my favorite pumps. The ones I was wearing last night. We were undressing so fast that I didn't have time to you know, put them away." She held one of the slinky black shoes up in front of him and he quickly wondered how his leg had need stitches. The heel on that thing could have easily been considered a weapon of mass destruction. "Gosh. I hope you didn't bleed on it, that would be so not sexy." _

"_Gee, thanks" Ryan said sort of sourly as he began to stand. _

_Kelly quickly abandoned her shoes. "I'm sorry honey." She said sweetly and draped her arms around his neck pulling him back down. "I care way more about you than those silly shoes. I mean, they were super expensive, but I can always earn more money. I only got one Ryan-oceros."_

_Ah. He never got enough of that nickname. Nothing else could make you feel like a twenty-six year old man more than hearing your named morphed into an animal name. _

_As much as he hated the name though, as she nuzzled her nose into his neck, something told him he didn't exactly hate being coddled by her. She cared. Maybe too much, but how could you not like someone actually genuinely caring about you? _

"_You know, my lips really hurt too." He had breathed after a moment or two._

* * *

He stared into those big brown eyes again presently, but they weren't the same as they had been on that morning. So full of adoration, and sweetness. They were still just as pretty and pure looking as ever, but now they seemed a bit listless, sort of unsure. When he noticed they were actually looking dead on at each other, he offered an embarrassed, but polite smile. She didn't return it, but rather pretended their eyes had never met, and adjusted her shirt. She turned to say something to Toby, but just as she opened her mouth to talk, Ryan cut off the conversation (not _exactly _on purpose) and began what he'd came to say.

"Okay. I know it's weird for me to be up here, but I do have Jan's job now, and as awkward as it, I got to keep this branch afloat. I want to same things all of you want. Today I just w—Yes Dwight?"

Quietly, Dwight had raised his hand and had held at position, until Ryan could ignore it no longer.

" I just wanted to know if you had included in you're application for this job that you almost single handedly burned down this entire building."

" Uh, no. I didn't feel it was relevant at the time. Thanks for you're concern on my paperwork being so through."

"I'll be sure to give the corporate offices a call. I'm sure they need all your records accurate." He smiled maliciously.

"Already tried that" Michael muttered in a singsong voice to Dwight.

Ryan just completely ignored they're exchange and continued.

"Listen. Corporate wants another sponsored charity event, so I thought that maybe a few of you could head that up, and put together some sort of gala, or ball for Scranton with like a cover charge, and all that other jazz."

Everyone immediately started chatting, and Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone seemed to be game on this. "Good, now, just get a committee together, and I'll be back down later this week to talk about plans with them."

Taking his briefcase, and ignoring the daggers he was getting form Dwight, and a few others, he made for the exit. All of the remaining employees spilled out behind him, and began to file back to they're spots. It wasn't until he was out the front door downstairs that he realized someone was following him. He turned on his heels, and saw Kelly standing there in the doorway.

"Hey" She said came forward, but only a few steps.

"Uh, Hi." He said, and moved in a few steps. "How're you?"

" I'm good" Her answer was sort of deadpan, and toneless. A bit rehearsed.

They both started to speak at once, but she managed to over talk him. Some things never change.

"Listen, I don't have long to talk, I have a job too. Plus, talking to you makes me want to eat cookie dough and watch Oprah, and I really need to watch my weight. I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of you. I didn't have a chance to say it before, obviously, but I just thought you should know that I am. Getting this job is going to open up a lot of doors for you, and I hope it's all you hoped it would be"

"Thanks. That means a lot. You know, other than my Mom, not many people have been that psyched about it. I mean, everybody here hates me now, and a lot of my friends don't even have jobs, and, well you know all of them." He said, awkwardly smile and gripping his briefcase.

Kelly nodded. She had not come out here to make small talk. She hadn't forgiven him for breaking her heart with five words. She just need him to know that before she made her vow to never speak to him again, or at least not all friendly like.

"Well, I better get back up there. Michael's probably somewhere setting you're picture on fire, and I'll have to clean it up." Without another word, she darted back inside.

Ryan's head fell. "I'm sorry." He muttered to nobody. And for the first time, he felt like the sweetest noise he could possibly hear would be her jabbering on, and on, and on.


	2. A black fly, in your chardonnay

**Every Man has a Kelly**

**Summary:** "Every man has a Kelly." That is the epic advice that Michael Scott relayed to his new boss, Ryan Howard in attempt to be helpful, despite the fact Ryan wanted to talk about business strategy. It sounded like drivel to him at first, but slowly, he begins to see it made more sense than even Michael understood. [[KRyan, with hints of Dwanglea and implied Jam

**Type:** Romance/Angst…/ I will ATTEMPT Comedy, though I'm not a funny lady.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this show, or any of the characters. Wish I owned Steve Carrell though. I asked for him and Will Farrell for Christmas!

**Author's Note:** Still going a little slow (and like I said, I'm NOT funny, sorry.) Hang with it, I may get better!

**Chapter 2**

_A black fly. in your chardonnay…_

* * *

// Individual shot of Kelly, flashing a half hearted smile // 

"I'm totally excited about the gala. Well, actually Michael had this idea of turning into like a 'Second-Chance Prom' sort of thing. I don't think he ever went to his real prom. He had pictures of him in tux, but the girl with him looks like his Mom or something. Me? I went twice. Yeah, my dates were both totally cute, but I didn't spend much time at the actual prom with them. One got lost finding the punch bowl, and the other had to dance with his sister all night. It was funny, they didn't look alike at all, and they had different last names."

* * *

// CUTS to conference room. Ryan is standing; Phyllis, Pam, and Angela sit at the table // 

"Okay, good progress guys. I'm not really sure about the whole 'Prom' angle, but if you're all in agreement that you think it'll go over good, then I can probably pitch it to Corporate" Ryan said rubbing the back of his neck tensely.

He had never known that the people who worked here felt such camaraderie to Michael. He thought that they had all just simply lived in dumbstruck fear of him as he had. But it was evident in the way they blatantly cold-shouldered him that they were dead set in showing allegiance to their wacky boss. Even Phyllis had mastered how to cut her eyes, and was getting a lot of practice on him.

"Michael wants it this way. Poor guy deserves something nice." Phyllis said stiffly, and shuffled through some of the notes she'd been taking.

Angela nodded with a tightly drawn lip.

" Yeah, and I happen to think the idea is very creative. Michael is a really creative guy." Pam said, being the one to not and try her irritation with Ryan at all.

"Okay, okay. I'm going to take some things down in my agenda book real quick, so you guys can take a break from crunching numbers and stuff." Ryan seated himself a few steps away, and took out his leather bound agenda book, and went to writing dates and assignments down.

Pam pursed her lips a bit, thinking, and finally deciding something. She figured that Ryan should know about the juicy piece of gossip she'd heard this morning in the break room. Perhaps it would take him down a notch or two, to know that even someone who had once been obsessed with him was moving on.

"Hey Phyllis" She began nonchalantly "You're bringing your husband to this thing right?"

Phyllis smiled her glowy smile and nodded "He's excited about it. He might get a limo and everything"

Bob Vance had a tendency to go all out where Phyllis was concerned. Not the worst quality in a man.

"Are you going with Jim?" Phyllis asked smiling a knowing smile.

Pam was sort of dating Jim now. They'd been out several times, and much to Karen's dismay, were back their normal selves at the office.

"Uhm. I suppose." Pam assumed shrugging. She made a mental note to mention it to him later. Time for the attack now. "You will never guess who Kelly's going with"

Phyllis's eyes lit up. Gossip was a staple for her. Angela rolled her eyes. No one turned to look, but Ryan's ears perked, yet he didn't move his eyes.

"People should be able to go to dance with each other without everyone making assumptions that they're an item. Perhaps Kelly just enjoys Toby's companionship, and has no interest in a romantic relationship with him. And if she did, it's none of our business." Angela scoffed.

"Toby?!" Phyllis squealed, "I would have never guessed. He's such a loner."

Pam smiled placidly "Yeah, and that's not all. I heard he's taking her out this Friday night. He asked Jim for tips on where to take her, since he hasn't been out on a real date in a very long time."

Ryan took a gulp, but continued to scribble in his date planner. Of course, he had run out of real information, so now his scribbling really _was_ just scribbling.

" Well. I think they make a darling couple" Phyllis decided, and Pam silently wondered if she had picked up her original motives. "I bet Kelly would be so good to Sasha."

All three ladies nodded silently, and Pam smiled and held in a laugh. 'Take that fancy-pansted- jerky-job stealer. Not even Kelly liked you as much as you probably thought.'

* * *

// CUT to shot of Toby in the break room, alone with camera // 

" I asked Kelly to the Prom thing. I'm sort of taking her out this weekend too. What's that? Oh, the desk thing. Yeah, I made up the allergy. Don't get me wrong, I've always thought Kelly was real cute, but sometimes I didn't want to spend my day hearing about the twenty reason's J.Lo's amazing, or how Matt Damon spends his weekends. I figure she can't be too bad though, once you get past all the chatter. She makes me laugh sometimes, and I understand how bad she feels lately. We both need a good time." The door opens and quietly shuts, but Toby keeps talking, un affected. "Plus, when my daughter was here once, Kelly made this cute little flower out of Post-It notes. Sasha still loves it. It's pinned to her knapsack."

// Door opens again, and a wider shot reveals that it was Ryan who entered the first time, and the new arrival is Kelly //

Kelly flashes a grin at the camera, before going past the boys and to the fridge for her yogurt cup. Inside her brain she's practicing her latest _**Tyra**_ mantra technique. 'Chant away awkward situations'. _This isn't awkward. It isn't awkward. It isn't awkward. Ryan looks __**so**__ cute in blue. No he doesn't, he's evil, Toby's looks better in the green. This isn't awkward. It isn't awkward._

Ryan coughs uncomfortably, and goes for the coffee maker with a mug. Toby seems oblivious to the situation. Well, he isn't really oblivious, but he just assumes that Ryan won't care. After all, he never really even liked Kelly in the first place. Toby was surprised it took him as long as it did to break up with her.

"Hey Kelly, I got reservations for that French place for Friday. Are you up for that?" He asks, apparently forgetting Ryan even exists.

"Uhh..Sure. Sounds great" Kelly smiles shyly.

Toby grins, and both turn around quickly when they hear a coffee cup drop. Toby is up in a flash to help Ryan, who is now covered in hot coffee. Kelly bends to pick up the large glass shards.

"Whoa. Watch out, I'll get those" Toby offers, "I don't want you to get cut."

Kelly smiles, and backs away. She watches as Ryan tries to blot the coffee out of tie, and even though she yells at herself and knows that Tyra would be mad, she wonders what he's thinking.

Ryan ignores the two. Him dropping his cup was _so _no related to Toby and Kelly making plans, right in front of him. He got to a little hot, and it surprised him when he touched it, and that's why he dropped it. As they scatter to help him, Ryan concentrates on getting the coffee out of tie, instead of Toby's blatant chivalry in not wanting Kelly to touch the glass. Ryan sees suddenly why Michael doesn't like Toby though. He's such a goody-goody. That has nothing to do with Kelly of course. It's just an observation.

The door quickly opens and Michael darts in joyously.

" Killer! Jan totally agreed to go to the Prom with me…and I still have the corsage I got my Mo—I mean my date in high school, and everything! This night is going to be so fresh. Just like the Prince of Bel Air."


	3. Thousand spoons, all you need is a knife

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own it! Oh, and I don't own the Chapter titles either. They're all lyrics from my favorite Alanis Morisette song, 'Ironic'. That was actually going to be the name of this fic, but I found the current one and liked it better, after changing the name. **Cool points to anyone who can find the uber-secret connection the current title has to the fiction. Don't think the obvious. **

**WARNING: **Not really a funny chapter at all. Yeah, even less than the others. The next two-three chapters will be more Kryan centric. The rest of the gang will show back up after that.

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"_Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!"_

_The sounds of several rowdy twenty something's, mostly guys, could be heard as Ryan watched Kelly stand nervously behind a pitcher of beer. _

"_Come on Princess, I know you can chug that!" Dirk, one of Ryan's closest (and wildest) friends told her. _

"_Can I just sip it?" She smiled awkwardly. This so was not her scene. She was only here because if she didn't come along to these parties with Ryan she might never get to see him on the weekends. He was always with his friends. If this is where he wanted to be though, this is where she would be. Actually, she would much rather be curled up on her sofa at home with her new kittens Shiloh and Suri. They we're running a special re-mix version of 'Engaged and Underage' on MTV. She totally loved that show. Young love is so beautiful. _

"_Can you sip it? Ryan, she's not for real is she? Yeah, you can sip it. Let me get you a pink bendy straw" Dirk scoffed, and a majority of the crowd that was gathered around laughed. Kelly just smiled, and nodded shyly. For a moment, she had honestly thought he was serious. She didn't get sarcasm very well. She just didn't understand why people didn't come out and say what they meant without being so smart and mean about it. As cynical as Ryan was though, she was beginning to get used to it, so after a moment or so, she blushed and picked up the drink. _

_Just as she was about to hold her nose (she HATED the smell of beer) and go for it, she felt an arm slip around her waist, and she craned her head to see that Ryan was now standing behind her. He used his free hand to guide the pitcher, still tightly grasped by both her hands, up to his own lips. The crowd began the chant again, and in no time flat, Ryan had drained the pitcher. _

_That was probably the moment that Kelly knew she was in love with Ryan._

_As embarrassed as he was by the fact that his girlfriend could get buzzed off a few sips of beer, and couldn't even chug one pitcher, when her eyes sparkled up at him with such a sincere thankful look, he couldn't help but kiss her hard. And when she breathed, "You're my hero." Into his ear, and he had one more beer, he was pretty sure Kelly was okay. Maybe he could break-up with her later, rather than sooner. _

* * *

He wasn't going to get any work done tonight, and that was for sure. No matter how many times he looked over those finance reports, the numbers just kept running together. It was Friday night, and he just didn't feel like catching up on all this stuff. The weekends were for procrastination anyway.

Weekend fever. That's all this mental block was. It had nothing to do with the fact that somewhere back in Scranton, Toby Flanderson would probably be getting lucky with his girl in a couple hours. No. Never. Kelly wasn't that easy. Sure, she'd slept with him pretty quick, but she had really liked him, and thought he was special. Or, at least that's what she had said. And even if Toby did score with her, did he care?

No way. It was his funeral. Little did he know that as soon as they hit the sheets, it was like pressing the 'on' button to Kelly's extreme clingy-ness. He would be the one having to analyze Paris Hilton's comments to the paparazzi with her. The one to have to deal with her picking off every single fry, while swearing she never ate fried foods. The one who would have to lay on the phone with her while she practiced different answer greetings for work, for three hours. The one who had to surrender his favorite Pearl Jam T-Shirt, just so she could feel close to him at night. The one who got attacked by tickle hugs in the break room. The one who never went a day without getting a text message with some sort of forwarded poem and a Nick Lachey song blaring on the attachment. The one who got woken up at 4 A.M after she'd had a bad dream and needed someone to hold her while she got back to sleep. The one who was expected to kiss her at 10:10, 11:11, and 12:12 every day, just out of superstition. The one who she swore she couldn't live without.

Okay, so maybe the last few weren't that horrible, but overall, Kelly was one needy girl. He guessed if Toby had time for that sort of thing though, then maybe it could work out for them. Ha. He just hoped he didn't think she was anywhere near mature enough to play parent to that little girl. Sure, she would help her pick out cute outfits, do her hair, and play boring games with her for hours on end. But, what happened when she needed real help, or got sick when Toby wasn't around? Okay, she was pretty good at taking care of people too. And she wasn't the best cook, but her soups and grilled cheeses always came out all right.

Ah, who was he kidding, as naïve and wet behind the ears as she was, Kelly would make a phenomenal mother. She was warm and nurturing, and as sweet as could be. She would lay down her life for the people she loved.

_Man, Toby is one lucky s.o.b._ He thought agitatedly.

He had to get some fresh air.

* * *

"_Come on, you know this one!" Kelly demanded light heartedly holding the rose colored card in her hand. _

_Her sister had gotten her the most awesome game for her birthday. It was called Destination Romance. You played it with you're significant other, and answered questions about famous romances through history, and movies, and books. Those questions were on the rose colored cards. On the light pink ones, were dares or 'quests' you were to complete together (which usually entailed telling the other person some intimate secret.) It was the BEST. _

_Ryan hated it. He hated everything she loved. She ignored his ever-sour mood though. Once he got to play, he would have to love it as much as she did._

"_Kelly. I seriously have no idea what movie that's from." He sighed, and drummed his fingers on the couch boredly. _

"_Ryan B. Howard, we watched this movie last weekend! You said it was really good!" She whined. _

_No surprise. He told her every movie was really good. Forming real opinions required him to watch it. If he just said it was good, she wouldn't ask to many questions. _

" _I. Don't. Know" Ryan repeated, and attempted to flick the TV on, before she snatched the remote from his hands._

" '_You should be kissed often, and by somebody who knows how'. Gone With the Wind! Gosh, do you ever pay attention to anything when we're together? Sometimes I think you wait for me to close my mouth and open my-" _

_Ryan's cell phone cut her off, and she crossed her arms menacingly while he chatted animatedly with his friend Bruce. Seeing he might be in for fight when he hung up the phone, he sighed heavily, and picked up one of the light pink cards. _

"_Kiss the prettiest thing in the room. Hmm." He lied, and left the card on the floor. _

_Ryan crawled over the game board, knocking over the little pieces, which were hearts with faces, and kneeled beside Kelly who was propped against the couch. She pursed her lips, doing her best 'Angela face' and didn't even look at Ryan. _

"_Well, I know what the prettiest thing in my line of vision is, but something tells me she doesn't want to kiss me just now" Ryan said, twirling a piece of her hair around his finger._

_Part of her just wanted to go gaga over his gesture, and smother him with kisses. But, she couldn't be that easily won. She had self-respect, and he'd been drowning her out all night, and had just taken a call right in the middle of a conversation. He was being beyond rude. So, she played stone, and craned her neck the opposite way. _

_Unfaltering, Ryan kissed her hair, and then began planting rougher kisses up her neck, trying to pull her face toward him with one hand. "Stop!" She whimpered, and tried to brush him off, but he persistently tugged until they were lip-locked. She was just about to give in; when she felt his hands undoing the top button of her mint green button up. Exasperated, she put both hands on his chest and gave a hard shove, and he landed on his back, lightly cracking his head on her coffee table. "Get off me you jerk!" _

_He was up in an instant, cursing under his breath while he looked for his jacket. "You don't want me here? Good. I'm gone. Bruce wanted me to meet him and the guys for poker anyway."_

"_Oh Ryan, I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to hurt you baby" She said, joining him near the door and tugging on his arm. "You don't have to __**leave**__! Stay, and we'll do whatever you want." So much for standing her ground. _

"_No, I'm going to have fun and drink with my friends. I had the worst possible day today, and the last thing I want is to spend anymore of it with you the way you're acting"_

"_I'm sorry, you were just being so rude to me. And my day wasn't good either. Angela called me a freak."_

"_Oh really? Yeah, sounds horrible Kelly. Want to hear about my day? Dwight took me on some freaked up hillbilly initiation thing, he had me in a barn and he asked me to get into a coffin and some weird guy named Mose was there, and Dwight said he was going to sow his seed in me or something, and then after all that, I find out I suck as a salesman. Then, I come here, and apparently I suck as a boyfriend too. Well, thanks a lot Kelly for being the cherry on the hap-hap-happiest day of my life. Great girlfriend skills there."_

* * *

"Kelly Kapoor, you are the dumbest girl alive." The petite Indian girl stared at herself in the reflection of a Macy's department store, and repeated that statement aloud, several times.

She should be sitting in a dimly lit restaurant, sipping wine, refusing to eat snails, and being complimented by one of the sweetest guys she'd ever met. Toby wasn't the most dapper, or even handsome guy in the world, but it was hard to touch him in the area of just being plain good.

Tonight was going to be their first date, but she'd been out to lunch with him a couple times now, and that was enough for her to see he totally had the Lloyd Dobler thing down pat. She couldn't imagine why his wife had left him. That was a downfall she guessed, being divorced. It left you to constantly ask exactly what happened that was so bad it made a woman want to break her wedding vows.

She'd bought a new dress for the occasion. A gorgeous and slinky A-line number, with thin straps, and a plunging neckline, that was a dark shade of turquoise. With her faithful (yet painful) black pumps, and thin black wrap, it had been quite the ensemble. She's spent all day with her hair in pin curlers, studying Rachel Bilson's red carpet hair-do, and trying her best to reconstruct it.

At 5:00, she was dressed and ready, complete with make-up done by her Mary-Kay consultant neighbor, two whole hours before Toby was going to pick her up.

At 5:12, she called Toby and canceled. She felt bad feigning an allergy attack, but something in the pit of her stomach told her not to go. He seemed a bit bummed, but she promised to make it up to him at the Dunder-Mifflin Prom the following weekend.

At 5:20, she decided she was going to call him back and recant, but when she picked the phone up, she dialed her cousin instead and asked to borrow her car for a shopping trip to New York. She needed her prom dress anyway, and she wanted something spectacular. Something that would really make this night up to Toby.

Now, at nearly 8:oo, all she had to show for forty-five minutes of shopping was a pair of earrings on clearance at Saks Fifth Avenue. As her feet grew tired, and her sub-conscious tried to battle her real reason for coming here, her nerves wore thin. Wearing her date clothes shopping was not a good idea.

Taking a break after Macy's was a must. She totally needed some Starbucks. She didn't have much cash on her, and she didn't feel like writing a check for coffee, but she could probably get a caramel-cinnamon frappuchino with her last ten.

This Starbucks was the biggest one she'd ever been in, but it was still jam-packed. Once she had her coffee, she couldn't find one single place to sit. Great. Her feet were throbbing. One of her nails was broken from the jammed door, and her coffee was going to get cold. Just as she was about to push open the glass door, she was surprised to see an empty chair at the table next to the entrance. She looked up to ask the stranger if he minded her taking the chair, when she saw the stranger was no stranger at all.

"Kelly." Ryan breathed.


	4. A death row pardon, two minutes too late

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it. Yet XD

**Authors Note: Thanks for the encouraging reviews! They keep my muse fresh, so just remember that XD This is another Kryan centric chapter, and it's this lengthy because I want to get back to the office by the next chapter. Prepare to hate Ryan. Just warning you. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Kelly?" 

Ryan has said her name probably three times now, but she couldn't find words right that second. Admit it or not, as awkward as this was, it was exactly as she had wanted. Her cold feet had stopped her from going out with Toby, and all she could think about the entire night was getting here, to this city, when she looked her absolute cutest, and seeing the guy who had broken her heart.

That was not only pretty cliché, it was pretty messed up. Kelly didn't know why she wanted to see Ryan. All she could fathom for the last few days were the many times he had illustrated just how bad he was at loving her. Like it or not though, she did have some questions for her former boyfriend, and no matter how much he might detest sharing a few moments of his evening with her, he owed her this much. She hadn't even gotten a sweet break-up note; all she'd gotten was a sentence fragment.

Snapping to reality, she mustered a casual look toward him. She could so do this. He wasn't that cute. Just because he had those piercing eyes, and stupid perfect hair, and chiseled cheekbones. Without all that stuff, he wouldn't be _that_ good looking.

" Hey Ryan." Kelly smiled politely, and motioned toward the chair in front of her "Mind if I sit? My feet really hurt"

"Uh, sure. " Ryan said, and she noticed that he didn't look that surprised to see her.

She wondered if it had been exactly what he expected, for her to chase him to New York. Ugh! That made her so mad. He thought he was so cool. He thought that she was so obsessed with him that she had probably made-up the whole date with Toby to make him jealous, and had then dressed up and tracked him down to this coffee shop. She sat, and looked woefully down at her styrofoam cup, trying not show her defeat in her eyes.

Actually, she couldn't be further from the truth. Ryan hadn't even come close to coming to jumping to the conclusion that she had concocted the whole date with Toby. He had saw the guy making plans with her. At first sight, he had honestly thought she was a figment of his imagination. He thought that Dunder-Mifflin had finally caused him to go out of his freaking mind. Then, when he realized she was real, he worried that the fact he'd just been thinking about her was written all over his face, so he didn't have time to piece together any theories on why she was here, and not at that crappy little French restaurant back in Scranton. He did notice one thing though, she looked amazing.

"You look nice," He offered making, as he felt, the understatement of the century. Ryan had long ago trained himself not to make to huge compliments to Kelly. They just got her excited, and put funny notions in her head.

She smiled wryly up from her cup. "Thanks." She moved her fingers nervously around her cup and finally sighed. "I feel like the biggest loser ever. Bigger even than Jennifer Aniston."

Of course, Ryan didn't follow at all. Jennifer Aniston. Was that the girl on Alias? No. It was the Latin singer, right? Or it could be that chick from Dream Girls. He wasn't sure. No matter which it was, it still made no sense to him. He got the word loser though, and that made it obvious that Kelly's date with Toby had not gone over as she had hoped. Now he was here to pick up the pieces. Great. Just what every guy wanted. Second fiddle.

"So, you and Toby and the little French place not all you hoped?" Ryan asked casually, hoping he was mastering the art of sounding like he didn't care.

Obviously Ryan had not understood her comparison at all. If he had even listened, he would have heard her compare herself to Jennifer Aniston, which made him Brad Pitt, and Toby Vince Vaughn. Brad dropped Jen like a hot potato when Angelina Jolie came along, and it seemed like Jen was going move on and be happy with the less attractive, but totally funny and cool Vince. Then Jen dumped Vince and totally started stalking Brad and Angie (or so that Special Edition of the Enquirer had said, and they were completely trustworthy) but did she get Brad back? No. He went and stared having babies with Angie.

Kelly wanted to have Brad's babies so bad. No. Wait, she wanted to have Ryan's babies so bad. Ah well, same difference. Ryan was Brad Pitt. She thought about explaining the story behind her comparison, but it would just be a lost cause. Ryan was totally handicap in relevant areas like the lives of celebrities. She'd once spent an hour of her time explaining what made an A-lister better than a B-lister. And he hadn't even looked like he appreciated it!

"I wouldn't know if it was all I hoped. I didn't…I didn't go." She admitted, without the help fabulous comparisons to popular stars, it seemed so much more depressing, and dull.

A little confused Ryan lifted a brow. "He canceled?"

"No! I did. You know, not every guy is you Ryan. Some guys like me. I get groped on the subway all the time." Kelly shot back.

" I liked you." Ryan stated calmly.

Kelly seemed to not notice this statement at all, for she continued to rant. "And Toby is totally into me. And so is that guy Darryl from the warehouse, he's asked me to Poor Richard's more times than I can count, but I never went because I was your girlfriend, and you would get mad. Now that I think about it though, I could have gone to get drinks with him, and you would have never noticed. I could let him feel me up on your desk and you would have never blinked."

Ryan rolled his eyes, a bit irritated. He hade just admitted that he actually had liked her, a big step where he was concerned, and now she was rambling on about that warehouse idiot.

"Yeah, right. I saw _**so **_many guys just going out of their way to feel you up at Scranton." Ryan said darkly

All Kelly could do was blush, and open her mouth in a wide affronted gasp. Finally, she stood up in a huff and pushed her seat under the table hard.

"You know what? I don't have to take your rude, sarcastic comments anymore. I'm an independent woman. " Kelly began "I'm going back to Scranton, back to Toby." With that, she made for the door.

Once she got outside, she started punching numbers on her cell phone, trying to call cab to get her back to where she left her cousin's car. She gave no thought to the fact that this was New York, and it was pretty much as simple as sticking out your thumb. The phone died and as she groans and looked up, Ryan was now leaning against the dumpster right next to her.

"Before you go let Darryl and Toby have their respective ways with you, you want to go see my new apartment?" Ryan asked, and held out his hand for her take.

Kelly considers what she should do. Ryan is a jerk. He dumped her, and insulted her. But then again, when Prince Charming asks you to go see his new castle, the 'Princess'-like thing to do is accept right? Plus, the sparkle in Ryan's eyes said he totally deserved another chance. He was so into her. She grabbed his hand, and he winked and gave hers a squeeze.

* * *

The tour ended exactly the way any date she'd ever had with Ryan ended. Except this bed had beige sheets, not lavender ones. 

"Am I a slut?" Kelly asked, her face buried in Ryan's bare chest. His soft laughter shook her, and she peeked out nervously. "I'm super serious. I've never ever slept with a guy I wasn't dating before"

"Well, there's a first time for everything" Ryan said jokingly, but instantly regretted it because Kelly clawed him, and her press-on's practically took off a layer of skin. She got up to, and tied herself up in his robe, before walking out on this balcony. It was calm outside in the dead of night like this. Surprisingly calm for the big city.

He sighed, and followed her outside, he propped himself up against the jamb of the sliding door and waited patiently for her to turn around. When she did, the look on her face was a guilty one.

"I made a big mistake" She sighed.

"Don't be so dramatic" Ryan said and moved toward her, taking her hand.

"I'm not being dramatic!" She pouted, but laced her fingers through his anyway. "I just…I feel like a one-night stand"

Ryan groaned "Kelly, it's not a one-night stand. We've been together before. A lot before."

"Yeah, but we were dating then. It was romantic then. Now I just feel icky, and used" Kelly continued to whine, but held onto his hand tight.

Ryan lightly touched her chin "Hey. Don't be like that. I like you okay, I do. "

"Then why did you break up with me?" Kelly asked, arching a brow, letting go of his hand, putting her arms behind her back and pressing herself against his balcony ledge.

Ryan had a file on his laptop that was full of the reasons why. He could print it off for her, but he felt that wouldn't go over to well. Instead, he would just hit near the truth.

"Things we're getting really heavy really fast, and I got this job here, and I knew it was going to be a lot of pressure, so I did what I thought was best at the time. I guess I went about it the wrong way"

"You guess?" She asked sharply, but her eyes were softer now.

"I know I did." Ryan resolved, and inched closer toward her. She stayed still as stone as he ran his hands up and down her upper arms, and massaged her shoulders. "Come on. You know I'm crazy about you." _Either that or just plain crazy._ He only the thought the last part. Of course.

Her resolve crumbled, and she smiled brightly at him, encircling her arms around his waist. "Well, it's about time." She giggled, and kissed him, until both were out of breath.

He held one of her hands in both of his, and kissed the knuckles lightly. Kelly felt like she had honestly died and gone to Heaven. Especially when his eyes flashed so earnestly into hers. She pondered telling him what a good father he was going to make, but since statements like that never seemed to go over so well with him (though she had no idea why) she just kept quiet. She would give him anything right about now.

"Go to Prom with me?" He asked, caught in the sweet moment.

Anything except that. If Kelly Kapoor was one thing, it was a person who didn't make a habit of breaking promises. She had already called off a night with Toby once, and even though it looked like she and Ryan were back on, she wasn't going to break a Prom date. That was like, unheard of.

"No. I can't do that, but tell you what-"

"Wait. Don't tell me you're still going to go with Toby?" Ryan cut her off.

"Ryan, I already told him I would. I lied to him about tonight. He thinks I'm at home with a puffy face, not wrapped in your robe at 2AM."

Ryan could not quite wrap his head around the feeling that was firing up inside him. He just knew that he didn't want Kelly going to that dance with Toby, as stupid as it sounded.

"You're not going to the Prom with Toby." He concluded, and walked back in the apartment.

His sudden spurt of jealousy was cute, but as much as Kelly liked having a fuss made over her, she wasn't going to let Ryan boss her around. That was her job in the relationship.

"Yes. I am." She said and reached for his hand, but he quickly pulled it away.

"Okay. Then get dressed, and get out of my apartment"

"Ryan! Stop. Stop acting like such a jerk and just listen to me, okay. You're totally overreacting"

" I'm not a jerk Kelly, I'm an idiot who just slept with his crazy ex-girlfriend for God knows what reason. You were right, this was a mistake. A mistake I **won't** make again." He said, back to collected voice that she was so accustomed to.

She didn't know what to say. No one had ever hurt her like this. Twice. She reverted to the only thing she knew to do, beg.

"Oh Ryan, please don't say that. You don't mean it. I love you, I want to be with you. You just said you were crazy about me."

"I **say** a lot of things I don't mean. I once told Michael he was a great boss. Before I was his boss of course," Ryan said, searching for her clothes. He had her dress, and underwear, but he couldn't find her shoes. "We just had sex Kelly, what am I supposed to say? You're the most annoying girl I've ever met?"

He pushed the clothes at her, and she hastily grabbed them, and despite thinking Ryan no longer deserved to see her naked, she pulled it all on as fast as she could, and stomped to the door barefoot.

"Good luck getting a cab" He said sarcastically, before she slammed his door.

She had never, ever been so humiliated. This is what she had ditched Toby for, to end up used, barefoot, and all alone on the streets of New York. Ryan Bailey Howard was no Prince Charming. He wasn't even the frog. He was a snake.

As she stood there, praying a cabby would take a check; she heard the last voice she's ever expected to hear.

" Jim Halpert will rue the day he messed with me. One day. The day of ruing."

"Dwight?" Kelly said as she looked at the bench just ahead of her. Sure enough, the Dunder-Mifflin resident crazy was sitting there, dressed like…was that a monk? No. It was a Jedi. She so shouldn't know that.

Dwight turned slowly to face her, and gave her a once over.

"Kelly Kapoor. I was unaware that you were a hooker. I suppose you need the money though. I'm sure you're drug habit eats up you're paychecks."

"We've had this discussion before, I went to a couple parties with Ryan. I don't do drugs."

"Very well. I don't have to know about you're personal life. And you don't have to let Jim know I fell for his latest scam."

"What happened..wait, I don't want to know. Listen, do you want to share a cab home?"

"Certainly. As long as you don't attack me like you did at the Christmas party that once, then it will be fine."

"Agreed."

As soon as they we're on they're way back to Scranton in awkward silence Kelly got an idea.

"You know that time you wanted Ryan to get in a coffin? That was the best idea you ever had."

Dwight smiled maliciously. "Ah. If I had powers to for see the future, he would have never left that beet farm. Shrutes have been known to predict the future. Darn my cloudy inner eye. "

"Yeah. Darn that inner eye" Kelly said, depression setting in.

**Further Note:** Felt badly about the way it ended up here, so I added the Dwight part. It's totally out of place, but so is the entire show most of the time. Sorry if you don't like it!


	5. Good advice, that you just didn't take

**Disclaimer**: Don't own it. Yet XD

**Authors Note:** Prom'll be here next chapter after next probably. Would adore more reviews. They're like fuel to me! Thanks for the sweet ones so far. You guys are great!

**Further:** Mild cursing in the Chapter, as you see from the first line. Just a heads up! Oh, and this one is bit lighter than the last! An alternate name could have been 'Michael, Myspace & Mayhem'

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_The good advice, that you just didn't take._

* * *

//Individual shot of Michael // 

"Ryan's a bastard. Yeah. I said it. My boss is a total douche. He's like…the ultimate Scranton betrayer. He took my job, and he took Kelly's dignity. I got a call from Dwight at 4 AM Saturday morning. I cursed at him, a lot, but when I calmed down he really did have a valid point. He had just pried a sobbing Kelly off his shoulder and got her home. I could tell you the whole sordid thing, but you know, I don't spread dirty laundry…plus I still need to actually get the whole story. Bottom line is, Dwight knows for a fact that he attempted to soil her good name by making her look like a hooker. Oh, and he stole her shoes. Not only is this messed up…but I also think it qualifies as a hate crime."

* * *

Kelly sat in the break room, stirring her coffee with five sugars and three creams listlessly. No matter how much sugar she added, it still tasted bitter. That could be attributed to her bad mood. It might also have something to do with the fact that when it cam right down to it, she didn't like coffee that much. Adults drank it though. She was so an adult. 

Pam sat beside her rubbing her back, and Angela sat with her usual stance, maybe scooted a smidgen closer to Kelly than she would have ordinarily been.

Michael is in the room to, standing by the counter, head down somberly. Dwight is lurking outside.

"May I come in now?" Dwight peeks his head in and asks.

Michael looks up "I don't know Dwight. Do you think you can stop reminding Kelly of what a huge, humiliating, and completely idiotic mistake she made?"

Pam glares at him, and Kelly slumps more. Angela narrows her eyes. "All he did was ask if she wanted a ham sandwich Michael."

"I know this Angela, but what sort of sandwiches was R-Y-A-N known for eating hm?"

"Turkey." She answered.

"And he usually had cheesy pitas instead of sandwiches" Dwight added.

Kelly groaned, and Michael motioned toward her affronted.

"See that. Scatter you unfeeling mongrel!"

"Michael" Pam threatened.

"Okay Dwight stay, but in the corner, and don't talk anymore. You're making my ears bleed."

Michael pulled a chair in between Angela and Kelly and straddled it, light patting her back just over Pam's hand. Pam quickly snatched her hand away.

"How you feeling there…girl?"

Kelly slowly rose up.

"Like someone shoved their hand down my throat and pulled my heart out, stomped on it, put it back in, then scooped it out with a spoon." She replied honestly, before flopping back down on her arms.

"That isn't physically possible." Dwight whispered, but quickly mimed zipping his lips when both Michael and Pam both shoot him looks.

"This isn't the end of the world" Pam tried cautiously "Have you talked to Toby today?"

Kelly shook her head. " I'm way to embarrassed. He knows now, and he has to totally hate me."

Pam smiled "You're wrong. I talked to him a little earlier, and he feels really bad for you. He wanted to call you after Dwight sent out the emergency emails Saturday morning, but he didn't know what to say."

Kelly looked a bit cheered, but very little. At least Toby didn't think she was repulsive, and if he did, he wasn't saying so.

"I think I'm going to get some work done." Kelly announced a few seconds later.

"Why?" Michael asked, and Pam rolled her eyes at him.

"Good Kell. Just give it time, forget about." Pam said reassuringly as she walked out with her. Michael came out behind them and headed toward his office.

"You know what Kelly, I'm going to give you Pam's desk for the day. Pam, take a back seat there chick."

"No thanks. I'll be fine" Kelly insisted.

She didn't look up at Toby as she passed. He was on a call anyway.

On her desk, she found a small bouquet of yellow flowers, and a card. She got excited. Ryan was sorry. Then she scolded herself for caring. Before she threw them in the wastebasket though, she decided to at least read the small card.

_**Kelly, **_

_**Sorry about what happened Friday. I understand. Old habits die-hard. Hope you like these. Yellow looks good on you. We still on for Prom? I know you need your need your space for a little while. Knock twice on the partition for yes. Phyllis said we could ride in her limo, if you want. **_

_**, Toby. **_

She smiled, and rapped the thin wall two hard times.

* * *

The camera zeros in on Michael rolling his eyes and making faces in his office. An inside the office shot, and he mouth's "Conference call with Ryan the Traitor" inaudibly. 

"Yeah. I got you, you wonderful, awesome guy you. I'll get right on those expense reports, and I'll pay close attention to"

A close up his desk reveals he is drawing a picture of Ryan with horns on the expense reports, while not even really looking at it.

"Good, fax them by four."

"Hey Ry-an. I got something to tell you bud."

"Michael, I've got work. Can it wait?"

"I don't know. Can you're honor wait Ryan."

"It depends."

"Well, I'm just going to let you know a secret my friend, you are not a fan favorite down here right now. In fact, people are talking some pretty ugly things about you."

"More than usual?"

"Uh, twice as much. Like, maybe ten times as much. Or a hundred."

"Well, you can't be everybody's friend."

"Not unless you're a Michael Scott. And you Ryan, you really aren't a Michael Scott."

"Darn."

"I just want you to know, I'm on your side in the Kelly war, Ryan." Michael is shaking his head no to the camera, signaling a lie.

"Kelly. What did she say about me?"

"Nothing. Not one word. Nada. Zip. I actually said you're name today, and she looked like she had no idea who I was talking about…..but she wants her shoes back."

"Listen Michael, this is none of your business. I'm your boss now, it's not appropriate at all."

"I just want you to know I feel for you guy. Every man has a Kelly." This time he scribbles on a legal pad. '**IDIOT! He totally bought that!' **

"Uh. Yeah. Sure. Michael just finish the reports, and fax them. Oh, and Karen Fillpelli still needs you're reference for her new job."

"Alrighty. Right on that Chief. You go lick you're wounds, I'm so on you're side." He hits and button and groans "Ass."

"Still here Michael."

Michael looks awkward, and a long pause entails.

"I knew that. I was talking about Angela. Yeah, she walked by and her butt looks really good in the skirt she's wearing. It's tight, and out there. I just said that because I saw it. You know I have thing for saying things I see...Lamp...Kevin's hair...Rubix cube..."

"Goodbye Michael."

* * *

Ryan rubbed his temples hard with both hands. He had so much work to do. The conference call to Michael had unsettled him. He had actually managed to go thirty minutes without thinking of how bad he had screwed up with Kelly over the weekend. He couldn't figure out if he was mistake was sleeping with her though, or letting her walk out of his door. 

He knew that the way he lashed out at her was wrong. He knew he had to apologize, but he just wasn't sure how to go about it. After thinking for minute, he decided to log onto her My space Page. She lived on that site while working.

Her background was pink, with large vibrant hot pink and white poodles scattered on the background. Her About Me talked more about the Olsen twin's drama, and Jen Garner's mothering skills than it told about her. That reminded him that getting back with Kelly would have been a huge mistake. He didn't want a committed relationship at all, and even if he did, she wasn't mature enough to be an adult relationship.

His own page had a simple black background. It wouldn't have had one at all, if Kelly had badgered him about it being so plain while they were dating. It was still plain, but with a black background. He didn't even have a picture. It was still the little gray guy that says 'No Photo'.

He saw that she was on, and before messaging her an apology; he decided to scan her pictures for a moment. She had trillions. He was surprised to see, when he opened them up, that she still had an album of shots of them together. In every picture, he looked like he wanted someone to shoot him. But Kelly looked radiant, and really happy. That bothered him a little. The captions did to. They were all things like 'Best boyfriend everrr!' 'I LOVE HIM' , 'Isn't he the cutest?', 'Aren't we a sweet couple?'.

He backed up to her front page, and went down to send a message, feeling a lot sorrier now than he had been. That's when he saw the comments she had received today.

First, 'Slim-Jim' had sent her a comment that said 'Once a sucky temp, always a sucky temp. Live it sister.'

The next was from 'Pam (thinks Jim is weird)'. It was a graphic of a little blonde girl dancing and holding shopping bags, that was wearing shirt that said Shop 'til You Drop!. Under it she had typed 'Want to go shopping tomorrow after work? Get our dresses, take your mind off things?'

The next was nearly the most recent. It was from 'The Boss' (obviously Michael in the picture which he had graphiced to make look like he was standing between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones on the MIB cover) His message was in all caps. 'KELLY!!! I JUST TALKED TO RYAN. HE'S SUCH AN IDIOT! YOU REALLY DID SCREW UP, THAT GUY IS A JERK. ANYWAY, WOULD YOU MIND GETTING ME SOME COFFEE AND BRINGING IT HERE? DWIGHT & ANDY ARE GONE AND PAM & JIM ARE BEING REAL MEANIES.'

None of those bothered Ryan. It was the most recent, and most simple that dug at him. It was from 'Toby-Wan.' It simply said 'You're welcome. Glad you like them. Heard the knocks. Guess that means we're on then?"

Inflamed by curiosity (and more inflamed by a deeper emotion), Ryan hit the tiny picture of Toby and Sasha to take him to his page. It was a blank one. White. Little information, save for that he was an avid movie watcher, and hated his job. His last comment (and one of his ONLY ones) was from Kelly.

' Thank you soooo much for the flowers! They're beautiful. I really needed them. You hear any funny noises a few minutes ago?'

Ryan hit refresh on the page, and when he did, Kelly had sent another comment. 'We sure are. I can't wait, going shopping with Pam for my dress tomorrow…Listen, I'm really sorry about Friday. I don't lie like that. I'm a totally honest person. It was just a fluke. And a big mistake. So, let's forget about it and start over this time."

Ryan turned his computer off. He picked up the file he'd been looking over, and tossed on the floor, causing the pages to scatter everywhere. He wasn't special to Kelly. Not at all. That psycho clingy-ness was just how she treated every guy. He was not going to allow him self to be jealous of a little brat. Especially not when the guy she was now going for was that much older, and had a divorce under his belt! Kelly would go after anyone. He saw that now. His eyes were wide open. The break-up was the best move he ever made.

He kneeled down to start picking up the pages of the file, and looked at the stats sheet that was on top. Looking at a phone number, he pulled out his cell and punched in the number.

"Hey Karen. You know how you said you changed your mind about seeing me? Well, you want to go out tonight?" He paused to hear her agree "Good. See you at seven?"


	6. A traffic jam, when you're already late

**Disclaimer**: Don't own the show, characters, or anything, sadly.

**Authors Note: **Prom is up next Chapter! For the sheer girth of everything that needs to happen, the Prom may be a few chapters long. Oh, and if you were expecting it to end at the Prom…you're wrong. I may be beating a dead horse, but I don't see it ending there. It's climax will be there of course….but keep hanging on.

**Further Note: **I over write. That's just a fact. Most of the Chapters I post are condensed versions of what they once were. I'm thinking of, when the fic is finished, posting a chapter or so of 'deleted scenes.'

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_A traffic jam, when you're already late._

* * *

// Individual shot Pam // 

" The office is extremely tense today. Ryan is here to meet with the party planning committee, see all the final plans before this weekend. He's been greeted with a very hostile atmosphere. I mean, Kelly's a bit chattery, but everybody likes her for the most part. Michael actually told him that seeing as he didn't work here anymore, he wanted to revoke his 'Hottest in The Office' Dundee. I'm sure that was a crushing blow. Kelly hasn't come out into the main office all day. She's staying at her desk. Poor girl. In happier news though, Jim agreed to wear the 18th century tux I wanted him too, with the knickers and everything. It goes with my powder blue Victorian dress. I'm really excited. I always wanted to go classic to one of my Proms. I turned Dwight down about the carriage though. His cousin Mose was going to be the driver. I saw that as a mood killer."

* * *

"You appear tense." Angela states dryly as she sits at her desk, and Dwight makes a copy. 

"That is expected, with such an evil looming overhead today. " Dwight says, just as stone like " He's making a mockery out of the branch. Stealing positions, sullying the good names of woman not quite accustomed to our culture. He's a madman."

Angela nods bleakly, not looking up from her work. "To bad Kelly doesn't have some strong, driven, intelligent man by her side. Perhaps next time, she will choose more wisely."

" Kelly doesn't have the…assets some women I know do." Dwight said, allowing a slight smile to reach only his eyes, and Angela's posture softens. "But, I won't see a member of our team made a fool of. I intend to do something about that firebug of a temp."

Angela nods. "Good luck with that Dwight. I don't know you too well, but I think if anyone can do it, you can."

Dwight is caught grinning as he walks away, and Angela's writing becomes more loopier, and girlish.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You break up with Kelly using like five words, after you tried to break up with her like a million times before. Then, you two rendezvous in New York, you get her in bed, and then throw her out with no shoes on, and call her annoying. Then, you never try to apologize, and go out with my ex-girlfriend, and on that date you decided that Kelly's the one for you?" Jim pieces together scratching his head, as he sits in the break room with Ryan. 

Michael had decided to take everyone out for ice cream. One of his morale boosters he had ensured Ryan. Jim got uninvited because he called 'I Robot' a mediocre movie, and Ryan was never invited in the first place. That did cut a little deep, seeing as Toby had even bee allowed to go.

"I never said she was 'the one" Ryan corrected, pacing the tiled floors, and Jim was propped on the counter eating out of a drum of perfectly good ice cream that had been in the fridge along with two more. "I just said I realized that she wasn't that bad, that I want to be her boyfriend again. Is that far fetched?"

Jim pondered that. With any normal girl, it would be completely far fetched. You say the things to Kelly that Ryan had said (and he knew everything he'd said because a little earlier in the week Dwight had sent around a revised transcript of the exact dialogue) to any other girl, and she would never give a second look. However, Kelly was a more of a romantic then most girls. More than any girl Jim had ever met. And, she was in love with, or at least deeply infatuated with, Ryan. Those elements lead him to believe that stranger things could happen, but since Ryan hadn't proved to be such a good guy lately, he figured he'd be blunt with him.

"Listen. If Kelly has any sense, and I mean half a neuron of anything other than pure naiveté, then I'd say she was done with you." Jim said and Ryan nodded darkly. "That's just one guy's opinion of course. You screwed up royally. You were given a second chance, and you tossed it too. Be satisfied with the fact it's your fault, and leave her alone."

Ryan ran both his hands over his face agitatedly, and continued to stomp around.

"I deserve that, I do" He admitted "But…I can't just walk away, you know? I mean, not after spending a year with her, hating most of it, and now feeling like I can't be happy without her. I know that sounds screwed up, but it's how I feel."

Jim just took a slow bite of vanilla chocolate swirl. As Ryan collapsed into a chair.

"What do I do?" Ryan asked though he didn't really expect Jim to know, or give him the answer.

Shrugging, Jim tried his best, even if Ryan didn't deserve it " Just. I don't know, be honest with her. But before you do that, be completely honest with yourself. Make sure that you earnestly want to be with Kelly, and not just have sex with her because she's never going to be 'that' girl. Apologize, and tell her how you feel. Go outside your comfort zone."

"What if…what if she won't take me back? What if she won't even listen to me?"

"Good. Then she's a smart girl." Jim said, but quickly added, "But, on your side, _make_ her listen. She needs to hear what you have to say, whether she wants to or not."

Ryan nodded. Jim was right, for the most part. He had to make Kelly listen to him. That's exactly why he had written her the letter in his pocket. Everything wasn't in there, because she deserved to hear it face to face. Just the apology was in the letter, and the last part asked her to meet him, if only for a few minutes, in parking lot at the Prom.

Jim noticed people were starting to file back in, so he went back on to the floor to meet Pam. Ryan zipped into the back part of the office and laid the note on Kelly's desk before she would be able to see him do it. It was just a big blue envelope, with no writing, so she'd be sure to open it. No one saw him do it. No one, except a certain purple-belted, spud gun toting, beet farm owning, man on a mission.

Having met with the committee before the ice cream trip, Ryan excused himself after they're return. Everyone else headed back toward his or her desks. Angela and Dwight exchanged a few discreet words, which ended with Angela nodding dutifully.

Before Kelly could reach her desk, Angela summoned her to the accounting area, and inquired how she was wearing her hair to the Prom. Kelly was so into hairstyles, that she didn't even notice that this was a way off base question for Angela. And she certainly did not notice Dwight skulking to and from her desk area, carrying a blue envelope on his way back.

"And then I'm going to finish it off with some ringlets, if that's not to much, bu-" Kelly rambled on, but Angela was done with the conversation, now that she saw Dwight securely back at his desk with the 'package'.

"Sounds nice" Angela said stiffly "I'm just going simple. I find it sinful to spend so much thought on one's appearance. That's just me of course."

* * *

"So I did what was right, and brought the information straight to the one person who would know how to handle it best." Dwight stated, as he laid the torn envelope on Toby's desk. 

Toby shook his head, not even daring to guess what sort of 'information' Dwight had brought him. Dwight's explanation of the events that the envelope concerned, complete with lots of code names and sign language speak, could not have been further from Toby's mental grasp.

"Okay, I have no idea what this is about, but why am I the best person to handle it?"

"Because, you are HR. This is exactly your field. It deals with humans, so make like your title, and resource it, or resolve it, or do something. I got the envelope, my duty is served. I will continue my surveillance and destroy tactics, but a lone man can only do so much."

Dwight dramatically turned and thundered off back toward his desk, and left Toby with no choice but to look over the contents of the envelope. Half because he worried what sort of mess Dwight was starting, and the other half out of sheer boredom. It was the last thing he expected to find.

_Dear Kelly,_

_I don't even know where to start. Yeah, I do. I'm sorry. So sorry. I can't explain what made me blow up the way I did, so I won't even try. I know that I was so wrong. You deserve better. But I want you Kelly, I really do. I meant everything I said to you Friday; none of it, not one word was a lie. I wasted a lot of time not treating you how I should, and I want a chance to make that up to you, if you'll let me. All I'm asking is for a chance to tell you exactly how I feel in person. I know you're going to the Prom with Toby, but if you'll spare just a few minutes with me out in the parking lot, just a few minutes, I promise I won't ever let you down again._

_Sincerely,_

_Ryan_.

He read over the words several times, and his first instinct was to put it back on Kelly's desk. Then he started thinking though, this was just another chance for Ryan to lure Kelly away and get laid on Prom night. Frat boys never changed. His wife's new guy was an ex-Frat boy. After he got what he wanted, he would just dump on her, and leave her feeling ten times worse, especially about herself. Well, he wasn't going to let that happen. Ryan Howard had played his last game.

Taking a deep bated breath, he crumpled the letter, and tossed it in the trash bin under his desk.

* * *

"Ew. Toby. No way. Kelly isn't going to Prom with him" Michael said to Pam as the two of them, and Jim got ready to leave the office that night, the last ones out. 

"Yes she is Michael. They're sort of on the verge of being an item" Pam smiled; as Jim took her hand on the way downstairs.

"He is sooo not right for her. He's old, divorced, and a total fun sucker. I already invited Packer to come and woo her on Prom night. He's stoked. He loves exotic women."

Jim and Pam both scoffed and rolled their eyes.

"Todd Packer is NOT what Kelly needs, not even close. He's like the last person she should be subjected to," Jim argued

Pam nodded in agreement "Besides, Kelly doesn't need another playboy type. Ryan used her enough already."

Michael shooed away that notion.

"Packer will show her a good time, just wait and see!"

No one looked convinced, not even Michael himself.

As they reached their cars, Pam suddenly remembered something. " I didn't see the clean-up guys heading up."

"Yeah, they have the long weekend off. They won't be back until Monday. Going to have to deal with the scraps piling up until then. Good thing it's just half day, for the Prom and all." Jim said in Michael's absence of knowledge.

"Ah, I can deal with it messy." Pam shrugged.

"That's what _she_ said." Michael concluded the conversation, and left the pair actually giggling a bit.


	7. No smoking sign, on your cigarette break

**Disclaimer**: Don't own the show, characters, lyrics or anything, sadly.

**Authors Note: **You'll have to excuse me if I get a little to into describing how people look, namely Kelly. I'm a fashionista. It's in my blood.

And if you notice some things in the next two chapters and you're like "Hey, that's sort of ripped off from Jane Eyre, or Pride & Prejudice", then you're probably right and good eye. Can't help it, I love those books. Want to read a romance that'll get you weak in the knees? I beg you, get your hands on Jane Eyre.

_**Warning**_ It gets melodramatic here folks. But hey, I got it categorized under angst, so you were warned! XD

* * *

**Chapter 7**

_A no smoking sign, on your cigarette break. _

* * *

// Individual shot Jim//

"I'm in knickers. Yeah. The things we men do for cute girls, huh? I feel like Mr. Darcy. No. I've never watched that movie. Okay, maybe once but only because it was all that was on HBO that day, and I used to have a thing for Keira Knightley. Anyway, we rode over here in Phyllis's limo. It was me and Pam, Bob and Phyllis, Meredith and this rough looking guy called Apache, and Creed. I don't know if Creed was invited to ride, or if he even knew we were going to Prom, but he was there. And he smelled like squash."

* * *

The warehouse of Dunder-Mifflin Inc. had been transformed. The professional decorators that the committee had opted to get had really did magic. Like every good Prom, this one had a theme. 'Winter Wonderland.' In August.

That was Michael's choice of course. It was the theme of his senior Prom. The one that he was forced to miss because of 'a family crisis'. Which most figured could have been summed up by the fact that his Mom had to work late, and couldn't make it.

As tacky as it sounded, the company had actually done a really good job. Lattices, white lights, snowy columns, and a dance floor that looked like ice. It truly no longer even looked like a warehouse. The warehouse wasn't the only thing that looked beautiful.

The women had all gone all out. The dresses were exquisite, the hair-dos over the top, with radiant smiles to match. Meredith look ritzy in red. Angela looked sophisticated in salmon. Phyllis was a paramour in plum. Pam was beautiful in blue, but to Jim, that was an everyday thing.

Even the males looked twice as dashing as usual. Michael had gone all out with a dapper tuxedo, complete with a classic black bowtie and red rose in his lapel. Dwight had taken the old suit to be dry cleaned, and it only looked a _couple_ decades old now. Jim, as per discussion, was decked out in 18th century, poetic looking garb, puffy collar and all. Creed and Stanley were both wearing their normal office garb, but Stanley had pinned on a small flower to match his wife's dress.

Kevin had wanted his band to play, and even thought he committee had agreed upon letting them play a short set (since no prom was complete without a ridiculous band), a DJ would also be there. Thank goodness, Pam had convinced Michael that he would enjoy the Prom much more as a guest than as the DJ.

Darryl's cousin Desmond was the chosen DJ, and was very good.

H'deourves were being served, pictures being taken, the punch was already spiked (much to Meredith's delight, and Angela's disgust), and some light dancing had already started. Angela looked livid at that fact an already sloshed Meredith insisted that Dwight owed her a dance.

Ryan walked nervously around the room, talking to anyone who would talk to him. The only ones who didn't really care enough about the Kelly situation (or else didn't know about it) to talk to him were Darryl the warehouse foreman, and Madge, another warehouse worker. Stanley probably didn't care either, but after the whole text message situation with his daughter a while back, he had never had any use for Ryan.

"Oh. Looks like the big boss man came stag, huh?" Michael smiled, and made sure to be loud, and pull Jan tighter as he said so. Her fashionable baby-doll style crimson gown was very becoming, though it didn't help retract the crimson blush on her cheek at being face to face with her replacement. She gave a curt nod, and convinced Michael to go get some punch ("Look, Blue Blast, you're favorite.")

Ryan stuck his hands in his pockets, and was just about to go wait in the parking lot like he had planned, but that's when he saw her.

The women all looked beautiful, but in his opinion, every single on of them paled in comparison to how Kelly looked when she walked to the railing at the top of the steps. Her petite frame was hugged by a pure white chiffon style gown, which cascaded outward a bit after it hit the waist. Her smooth dark skin contrasted so well with the strapless dress, and the light sprinkling of rhinestones on the bodice, as well at the teardrop necklace that hang low on her neck, caught the light perfectly.

Kelly's conversation with Angela had caused her to rethink her hair-do. In the end, she had taken two rhinestoned combs and situated her dark hair up just slightly off her shoulders, and left one piece lightly curled near her eyes.

He saw right then and there why she was so anxious to get married. Kelly looked amazing in white. He would have given anything to be waiting at the bottom of those stairs to take her gloved hand in his, and have her smile the way she once had smiled at him. He just had to keep telling himself that by the end of this night, he will tell her the truth, and despite what Michael, or Toby, or anyone else thought, she would be his again. Seeing his opportunity, he ducked out into the parking lot when Toby joins her in walking down the steps. All he has to do now is wait.

* * *

The Prom is now in full swing. More and more guests enter by the minute. It's looking really good for the chosen charity.

Toby and Kelly sit with Jim and Pam taking break from dancing. It is time for Kevin's band to have his set, and nobody can find enough rhythm in it to dance. Except for Michael who is doing an awkward Macarena style number with Jan just shaking her head nearby.

"You two look totally adorable" Kelly smiles at Jim and Pam "Just like Pride and Prejudice."

Pam is surprised that Kelly has heard of it. She always considered Kelly to be more one for cheesy romance movies, such as She's All That, and Drive Me Crazy. Not that she knew anything about either of those movies.

"Thank you Kelly. It's one of my favorite books." Pam grins at Jim, "And Jim here was nice enough to sacrifice himself on the alter of dignity to make one of my silly dreams come true." Jim makes a face, but kisses Pam twice on the forehead.

"It's a book to?" Kelly asks puzzled, but doesn't get offended to bad when the remaining three laugh at her light heartedly.

Pam and Jim continued to poke and prod each other playfully, and then more romantically as the time progresses, and finally Jim suggests they dance now that Desmond has taken back over and they are playing a nice slow song. Kelly watches wistfully as the pair can't seem to get close enough. They truly look like the two most in love people Kelly had ever seen. It must be nice, to actually be in a two-sided relationship, where neither one of you could get enough of the other.

The look on Pam's face reminds her of how she used to look at Ryan. So much affection, that only that full eyed adoring, smoldering, can't-take-your-eyes-of-for-even-a-minute-because-you're-going-to-miss-one-blink kind of look can give a clue to how you feel, words are never enough. Jim's look is a foreign one to her though. It is one just as touching, and emotionally awed, and attached as Pam's. One she never got in return. One she would have killed to get, or even to have gotten one tenth of that attention from Ryan.

To Jim Halpert, no other woman in that room existed except for Pam. Kelly felt a single hot tear run down her cheek, but quickly smoothed it away with silky gloved fingers. Toby looked uncomfortable. He knew what she was thinking, and wondered if he should just do the right thing and tell her about Ryan, who was probably waiting for her right at this moment. Before he could say so though, she seemed to be getting over it. She flashed a friendly smile at him.

"The two of them look great, huh?"

"Yeah. They're a perfect fit. It was inevitable." He agrees, missing his own wife a bit. "Hey, you want to get back out there? This is a pretty song."

"Uhm, not just yet. I like watching those two, if you don't mind. They're just so cute" Kelly sighed, and Toby felt a bit awkward again "Do you have your camera? I bet Pam would love it if I snapped a candid shot of the way Jim's holding her right now."

Toby patted his breast pocket for his small digital camera. "I think I left it in the car, I'll go get it."

"No, no. I'm the picture-ho; I'll go get it. You stay here and enjoy the song. After I get this shot real quick, next dance is ours." She grinned well naturedly, and smoothed her dress out before clapping off toward the exit.

It wasn't until she reached the door that Toby remembered what she was going to be walking into. He got to his feet to follow, but felt the truth was going to come out no matter what he did, so it would just be best leave it alone. For now. Kelly was smart; she wouldn't let Ryan work her over again.

* * *

He'd paced the pavement at least a hundred times. Pacing was becoming almost like daily exercise for him. If she would just walk out here, just hear him out; he knew he could make her see.

And then, after all that waiting, she was walking toward him. Her head was down of course, and he was pretty sure she hadn't spotted him yet. She was here though, and that meant that she was going to listen.

"You came" Ryan said deeply, as she got close, and saw him for the first time. She looked shocked. She'd seen him upon entering, but just as quick as she had, he'd been gone, and she had been glad. That had made it easier for, a little less painful.

She looked at him strangely, and Ryan couldn't even say what that look contained. It was like she was trying to find what she ever saw in him in the first place, and that killed him.

"You're torturing me. With that look. That look…one I don't recognize. One I think I don't want to know" He said truthfully "But at least you're here." He reached out and stroked her hair and she moved back awkwardly.

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm here with Toby." She said, as if reminding him of something he was completely forgetting.

"I know that. And I know you're probably still mad, but at least you came out here, to me." Ryan said hopefully, rubbing his neck tensely. Jim would be proud. He had taken a leap out of his former comfort zone. A giant leap.

He reached out for her hands, which were limp with confusion in front of her. She pulled them away and continued to step back.

"I came out here to get Toby's camera, out of Toby's car, because I'm here with _Toby_." Kelly said not sure what to make out of Ryan's actions.

For the first time, all he wanted was to have her close to him, and she was cringing at his touch.

"So you didn't come out here to talk to me? To listen to what I have to say?"

"I didn't even know you were out here, and if I had, I would've never came out here."

"Then you coming out here has nothing to do with my letter" Ryan asked in a disbelieving tone.

"What letter?"

"The one I left on your desk. The one that told you how sorry I was. The one that asked you to meet me here, tonight." He said, moving forward quickly and putting his hand to her face. "The one that told you how much I wanted you."

"Oh Ryan really?" She asked, for a moment feeling like her dreams were coming true. Forgetting all that had transpired. Only hearing what he was saying now, feeling his hand to her cheek.

"Yeah, really." He said, all of sudden feeling this was going to be easier than he thought. With that newly instilled confidence, he kissed her lips hard, and then began trail down her neck.

In her mind, amidst all the dreams being fulfilled, Kelly felt a pang of familiarity. Then it became hauntingly clear how similar this moment was to the moment after they reached Ryan's apartment in New York. Then, she flashed even further back to the moment in the Applebee's parking lot where she had first had a brief reality check, and felt like she didn't mean to Ryan what he meant to her.

"Wait. No." She said, and pried him off with a little struggle. "This isn't happening again, I'm not doing this to myself again." Kelly turned and tried to walk away but Ryan caught her elbow and turned her back to him.

"Kelly, just be still and listen to me, and I know you're going to like what I have to say."

"I always like what you have to say Ryan. I like it enough let you pull my clothes off and get on top of me. I never like myself after the fact though. I feel desperate and used, and that's exactly how I felt walking onto a sidewalk in a city I barely know, penniless, shoeless, and hopeless."

"I said I was sorry" Ryan said

"No you didn't!" Kelly shrieked "You can't just say 'I said I was sorry' all the time. At some point you actually have to say you're sorry."

"I did say I was sorry, I put it in writing, in the letter."

"Here you go with this non-existent letter again. Ryan, please, you don't even care enough about me to tell you're mother you're seeing anyone, after a year. I know your not committing one-ounce of yourself to writing me a letter. That would seem too romantic to even be real to you."

"I did write you a letter. It was on stationary, and everything. It was in a big blue envelope, I left it on your desk Wednesday."

"Gee, I guess I missed this big blue 'letter'" Kelly said, using air quotes to emphasize her disbelief this letter was more than something Ryan was suing to make her think he gave two cares so she would take him back to her place.

"Are you calling me a liar Kelly?" He asked, his eyes narrowing. He was baring his soul, practically (well, for him he was baring it all) and she was basically calling it bull crap. Not the thing a guy who's finally decided to be honest wants to hear.

"I'm calling you more than a liar Ryan Bailey Howard, I'm calling you a user, and a jerk. I'm calling you….a wa-…a big waste of my time" She choked out. "I adored you don't you see that. I gave you everything I had, and you scoffed at it every chance you got, like I was a little kid who had crush on her big brother or something. You looked at me like I was an annoyance that wasn't even worth the time it took to extinguish, so you'd just wait until I got bored enough to go away. I didn't see that then, I didn't want to see it. I was too in love to let it go. My eyes are wide open now though, and I see our relationship for what it was. A one-sided sham." Her voice got more elevated, more passionate, and more forceful with every single word.

Kelly practically collapsed after saying these words, face streaming with hot tears. After struggling to keep her balance in such a state for a moment, she just dropped to the ground, Prom dress and all. Ryan just stood silently. The one thing he'd wanted her to get a clue at and pick up for all those months, she finally got now, at the worst possible moment. The time in which he had finally realized that he needed her.

"Just listen to me long enough for me to say something very important, something that I have to say right now, or I'm gong to lose my nerve." He took a breath "Kelly I-"

"No, stop talking, I don't want to hear anything you have to say" Kelly said clutching her ears and fighting to get up, without his help, as he tried to assist her.

"You are going to hear this!" He said, eyes burning, pulling her up to her feet in front of him. He tried to dry her tears on the cuffs of his dress shirt, but she knocked his hands away, and took care of herself, pulling her gloves off to use as kerchiefs.

She looks a complete mess. Her hair has fallen, and her cheeks are hot with rage and realization. Her mascara is waterproof, but it's obvious that Queen Latifah lied, because she has faint black lines down her face as well. Rubbing them with the gloves jut blots them worse and ruins the gloves. The dress that took her hours to find is covered in dark gravel dust, and ripped and tattered in several places from the rough pavement.

Looking at her, as vulnerable as he's ever seen her, as _real_ as he's ever seen her, he has to say it before he explodes.

"Why…why are you doing this to me Ryan. I'm doing what you wanted for so long, I'm trying to leave you alone." She asks, trying to reduce the volume and shakiness of her voice, but isn't in control of her emotions anymore "Why..?"

He moves toward her, despite the fact she is slowly backing away.

"Because Kelly…" He says, his own voice shaking a little, but he keeps it strong and forceful, so she'll know he's being honest. _Completely_ honest.

"…Because **I love you**."

She moves toward him, her mouth open trying still to catch her breath, he reaches out for her, feeling as if she is going to fall into him, and before he realizes it's coming, she does it. She slaps him cold, and hard against his jaw. And it hurts. Bad.

Still not even grasping her reaction to the thing he thought she wanted most, Ryan barely realizes she's hoisted her dress up and is jogging back toward the warehouse.

* * *

A/N: Phew. Longest one I think. I could have gone a little further, and actually did, but felt it best split chapters here. I edited out a little Dwanglea scene, which will either be refitted in next chapter, or be in the deleted scenes at the very end. Packer will show up next chapter too for some fun, since this one was such a melodramatic one. Hopefully. Tried to give you a little JAM action there naley4eva93, hope it was up to par! 


	8. Won the lottery, died the next day

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of it. The show, characters, lyrics, or Packer's mind numbing attitude!

**Authors Note: **Thanks for more reviews. Keep letting me know what you think. I'm as addicted to writing this as some of you are to reading! Love all the reviewers; you guys make me want to write!

P.S: I'm not that funny so the Packer stuff may not be what it could, I tried!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

_Won the lottery. Died the next day._

* * *

// Individual shot Kelly.//

Kelly stares at the camera wide-eyed. She's a complete and total mess. Her hair is down and wild, her face tear stained with light black streaks and smudges. The dress is in shambles.

"Yeah. The worst Prom. Ever. Hands down. "

* * *

"Okay, the party has finally arrived!!"

A loud and obnoxious voice bellows echoing in the room. Todd Packer has finally entered, and he is ready to boogie. His announcement comes a the worst possible moment of course, seeing as the lights have been dimmed down, and a series of slow, crooning songs are being played one after another.

At the boisterous arrival of his self-proclaimed B.F.F, Michael pulls away from Jan, who had just got him calmed down and settled into just gently rocking back and forth with her on the floor (since their was no hope for his dancing skills in any area.) She grimaced and rolled her eyes.

"Packer!" Michael said, and practically galloped over to the balding masochist and attempted to to tackle hug him, but is was of course side pushed.

"Sorry Michaela" Packer said, "I brought a date, and it isn't your Mom this time!"

"Very funny man. You are such a riot. I've been telling you for years you should do stand-up."

"Do stand-up? Sorry, I do the females" Packer continued, numbing the minds of any one with one lick of intelligence. Michael roared with insane laughter. Suddenly, he snapped a little back to stance.

"Wait, did you say you brought a date?"

"Two actually. Their name's are Cherry and Venus." He waves wildly toward two scantily clad women, who are dressed in faux furs and vibrant colors, complete with platform heels.

"Jeezus Pack. I asked you here on a mission. I wanted you to provide some much needed T.L.C to a valued member of my team." Michael sighed

"Calm down, get your Little Pony panties out of a wad, and adjust your kinder-bra. That's why I'm here. I always have room for one more thoroughbred in the stable! Where's this exotic little Philly at anyway? I'm ready to take it back to.." He searches his pocket for a something and finds a little gold key and reads off it "Room 329. Get the real party jumping, it's three kinds of lame in here."

Michael's head hangs. "Nooooo. _Not_ what I wanted…._at all_" He whispers to himself, exasperated.

* * *

"No, no. It is your turn for a fabulous suggestion; since you're precious little feet have tired of dancing. What do _you_ want to do?" Jim asks, draining a small cup of the 'Blue Blast' punch. It is now approximately 3 juice substance, 97 pure vodka.

Both are a little buzzed, and now Pam has tired of Jim's little drinking contest, and is begging him to come up with something fun to do.

"Hey, I'm only tired of dancing because I'm already going to have to go to a podiatrist about the lasting damage you've done down there. You may be cute my dear Mr. Darcy, but graceful, you are not." She smiles up at him, and puckers, and he gives her 'smack' kiss quickly, before blowing a raspberry into her cheek.

About that time, the commotion with Todd Packer starts, and Jim rolls his eyes. Even in his lightly inebriated, giddy state of mind, he is utterly annoyed by the mere presence of that man. Pam is not far behind him in disgust.

"Gag." He says simply "We _have_ to bail."

"Aww, we can't leave the Prom yet. It's not even midnight!" Pam pouts and tugs on his arm.

"Okay, okay. But I cannot stay in this room while he tries to subject Kelly to that creep. We at least have to sneak off until the initial mess dies down."

Pam nods and ponders what can be done. Suddenly, she has a good idea. A bad idea, but a fun one. "I know! The cleaning crew is gone until Monday-"

"I know that I told _you_ that."

"Shut it drunky, I'm plotting here. Anyway, I think we should go up and see what kind of juicy information we can find out. Huh?"

Jim smiles, and crinkles his nose "I don't know Beasley...reading little notes? To be honest, it's sounding sort of junior high. I mean we are at Prom, but that's a little juvenile, don't you think."

"Oh, you are so curious to see what Monkey and Possum have to say about each other and you know it…plus" She smiles wickedly and quickly ladles punch into two empty Blast bottles. "I plan on getting you really drunk, and forcing you to make-out with me."

Jim raises his brows "Woa. Beasley, what makes you think I'm that kind of boy?"

"You have to earn those spaghetti dinners some way Halpert." She smiles and pulls him down to her via his puffy collar, plants a long smooch on him, and proceeds to chase him upstairs.

* * *

Kelly doesn't know if Ryan is following her, and isn't even really thinking straight as she runs, back into the 'ice palace.' She has no idea how bad she looks. Under no other circumstances would she have even let her kittens see her like this. It didn't take her long to get a tinge embarrassed though, because she was quickly the spectacle of the room.

She didn't look like a cave woman or anything, but since things were so quiet (now that Packer had taken Cherry off for private 'dance.') and she was certainly not the vision she had been before going out.

Toby made his way over immediately, but was cut off by Michael.

"Kelly there you are…wow, you look like crap. You might want to go clean up before Packer gets back. He's got…uh standards."

"I sort of don't have time for you or Packer right now" Kelly says, still emotional.

"Kelly what's wrong, what happened out there?" Toby asks, obviously not pleased that he had let her go outside after all.

"I don't want to talk about, just take me home. I'm so sorry, but I just really want to go home" She begs.

Dwight steps forward gallantly from behind Angela, whom he accidentally used as a shield when he thought Kelly was a clone of herself, being sent from 2946 to do them all grave harm.

"Did Ryan accost you in the parking lot…I saw him go out there…earlier." Dwight says, lying, but only for the good of his mission.

He intercepted that letter, and scanned its information in its entirety before passing it on to Toby. He saw Ryan's little motives right away. Lure the poor girl to the parking lot, stab her with a heroin needle, and trick her out to local truckers, just like he did in New York. Then, he would of course burn the hotels where it happened to the ground, but he would go unpunished because all they ever would ever find was a scorched cheesy pita. In the end, an innocent Greek man might burn at the stake for the crimes. (That was tentative theory of course, but he was fairly certain he was right on the money)

He had thought for sure that Toby, being her chaperone to the dance, would never allow her out of his sight, even for a moment. HR had failed once again. That was the last time he entrusted company issues to a person of Toby's obvious inferiority.

"I don't want to talk about" Kelly said "I want to go home, take a bath with my Berry-Licious Bubbles, and wash everything that happened tonight off."

"He's got to her, I'm sure of it. " Dwight concluded. "Find the needle mark on her, I'm going to alert the authorities."

"Kelly" Ryan breathed as he finally got in the room. She could see right away that even though she had never ever slapped anyone before, she was totally good at, because her tiny red hand print was still stamped on his pale cheek.

"Stay away from me" Kelly said, her tears threatening to start up again " I don't want to talk you ever again. You horrible, horrible, liar."

Phyllis lets go of Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, and moves to put her arm around Kelly's small frame. Dunder-Mifflin ladies take care of their own.

"Kelly, I wasn't lying. I meant it. I was scared as hell to say it, but I it's true, and I'm glad I said it. " Ryan claims and moves toward her.

Michael and Dwight charge forward to try and retain him, but they bump into each other, and get tangled up in a fist fight of their own for a while.

Kelly's whole body seems to be shaking as Ryan gets closer, and Toby walks a few inches up from where he had been standing behind Kelly. He doesn't say anything though, he isn't confrontational at all. That's why his wife got everything in the divorce.

"Please, leave me alone" Kelly begs.

"I can't" Ryan answers honestly.

"What did he do to you out there sweetie?" Phyllis asks, tightening her hold on a chattering Kelly.

"He was just lying, and saying all kinds of _things. _Please, just make him leave."

"What, did you say he whopped out his thing on you? Oh god, somebody call the freaking' cops!" Michael says as he continues to paw at a glasses-less Dwight.

Everyone ignores his idiocy.

"What did he say?" Phyllis presses.

"Only the truth" Ryan affirms

A giddy Pam and Jim race each other down the stairs in the midst of all tension. Pam almost trips over her ruffles, but Jim catches her, and their laughter quells as they get a handle on the scene they've walked in on.

They're no more drunk then they were they left, having done a lot more making out then drinking and snooping while upstairs. They were forced to retreat back down when Todd Packer and Cherry invaded their little party. He had invited Pam to stay, and she had to pull Jim away to keep him from punching him.

"What's going on here?" Jim asks, taking it all in. Dwight, now with Michael and an uneasy headlock. Ryan, looking especially flushed, except for the large red puffy patch on his face. Kelly, looking an out and out mess, and whimpering on Phyllis shoulder to boot.

Ryan uses the distraction Pam and Jim's entrance causes to his advantage. Phyllis temporarily relaxes her bear hug of Kelly, and he quickly pulls her toward him.

"Please, tell me you believe me," He says smoothing her wild hair back

"You're making fun of me, mocking me." She insists but she is to weak to try and fight from his grasp.

"No, that isn't true Kelly. I really l-" He is abruptly stopped by Dwight and Michael's apparent decision to set aside their fighting to join together for the greater good.

He doesn't try to fight them back. But they keep him in a joint hold. "I'll hold onto him Michael, you go call the Sheriff. Let him know I'm already on the case, so he doesn't have to drive too swiftly."

"I'm not calling the cops Dwight. We can handle this. You hold him, I'm going to open a big can of hurt and beans up on him" Michael rolls up his sleeves, and Jan rushed forward.

"Stop this right now Michael! You are going to get fired, then we'll both be out of work."

"I'm sorry baby, you know me, and I'm a lover, not a fighter. But this punk has tested my limits, he really has. He's going to learn that we don't welcome back prodigals here at the Scranton family, especially not when they're molesting our women."

"Wow, we missed a lot" Jim says.

"Yeah. Molestation. I knew something would happen the minute we went upstairs." Pam nods.

"Nobody molested anybody" Kelly pipes up "Ryan didn't do anything criminal. You don't have to call the cops, just let him go. But, not before he agrees to leave right now and not bother me anymore."

Dwight laughs coldly "Release him? Are you crazy women? Well, I shouldn't call you crazy. That's just all the drugs he's forced into you're system talking. You probably don't even know where you are. This is Dunder-Mifflin. I am Dwight. I will be you're hero today."

Ryan knew he could have probably easily got out of Dwight's hold, but tonight had already gone so screwed up that he didn't want to add scuffling with him to the list.

"I will leave. You just have to acknowledge what I said is the truth first" Ryan says, trying to keep Dwight from searching his neck for microchips.

Kelly shakes her head limply, unwilling to take him in earnest, after all that's happened.

"Okay…I'm going to have to know he said Kelly. That way I can accurately fill out the proper reports." Dwight insists "You can get me the full copy later. Just give me the gist now."

She shakes her head again, and Pam walks over to her, able to regain her normal composure in at a time like this. Good things she was only buzzed, not drunk.

"Hey Kelly" She said in complete awe of how she was seeing her. Kelly usually freaked if lipstick wasn't applied perfectly every minute or so. "Ignore Dwight, but what _did _he say that was so bad?"

Kelly opens her mouth for a second, but refuses to say it.

"Oh Pam. He's playing the dirtiest kind of trick. He's mocking me, and using how felt about him against me. It's so wrong" She whimpers

Pam just nods.

"Okay Ryan, I don't know what you said, but it's honestly best if you leave." Pam says calmly "Let him go Dwight"

Dwight reluctantly releases Ryan, who automatically goes straight toward Kelly. Pam side steps in front of her.

"Nope" She says lightly pushing him back a bit "Go home Ryan. Or go wherever you're staying tonight. Kelly's obviously had more than she can take"

"You know me Kelly. You know I'm not lying about this." Ryan pleads over Pam's shoulder. When she continues to avert her eyes from him and shake her head he turns toward Jim "You told me to do this, it was your idea. You said it would work."

Everyone looks flabbergasted. Kelly raises her head up with angry eyes.

"You Jim? You told him to do this to me? How could you! I never did anything to you! I always rooted for you and Pam, always!" She whines.

Jim's eyes are large and innocent, and he knows he gave Ryan advice, but known of it involved ripping Kelly's dress and smudging her face up like that.

Pam has no idea what Ryan meant, but she trusts Jim so she doesn't jump to any conclusions. If Jim instructed him on something, it was with nothing but good intentions.

"This is…crazy, it's out of hand" Pam sighs "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Dwight, escort Ryan to his car. After they leave, Toby, I think you should take Kelly home."

Dwight springs into action, but Ryan struggles a little this time.

"You can pretend it's not true all you want Kelly, but I love you, okay? I love you, and I'm going to make you see that." After getting that out, Ryan allows Dwight to push him toward the exit.

The party is obviously dead. People filter out, leaving only core office staff there to try and make sense of what just happened. Toby is about to leave to take Kelly home, so Pam, Jim, Michael, Jan, Phyllis, Meredith, Creed, and even Stanley.

"I'm just going to say it. That was...beautiful" Michael chokes out "Sick, deranged, and unsettling, but beautiful." Jan pats his back for comfort

"What happened to this place? It's dead." Karen says warily as she enters decked out in a black prom dress. "I was supposed to meet Ryan. Where is he?" She makes sure she's looking right at Jim and Pam when she says it.

Kelly almost falls over, but Toby catches her. She was right. At least she can congratulate herself on not falling for it. For a split second there, she thought he was being honest. _Stupid, stupid girl._

In all the awkwardness, Packer reenters from above.

He sizes up the mess, but doesn't look too surprised. He's been involved in far weirder things.

"Wooee gal, you look like ten miles of dirt road" He says eyeing Kelly over. "Didn't know this was a Halloween blast Mikey….anyway, where is that hot Indian broad you promised me. Is she going to be dressed like Pocahontas, because I'm telling you, that's what I'm picturing."

* * *

A/N: Not completely happy with this Chapter. Might have to make revisions, but here it is. Dwanglea will have to be in the deleted scenes (I promise), tried to fit it in here but it was just awkward with all else going on. Didn't intend to include so much JAM, but it was originally a plot device, which I went another way with. You might can guess what I was going to do if you think real hard XD I just wanted drag it out a little more though, so I squashed it for the time being. 


	9. Waited his life, for that flight

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of it. The show, characters, or lyrics.

**Authors Note: **A completely Kryan centric chapter! Hope you guys like it, it's sort of anti-climatic, but next Chapter should be better!

P.S: More reviews better muse faster updates! XD

Much thanks for all the ones so far!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

_Waited his whole life, to take that flight._

* * *

// Individual shot Creed, in the company parking lot//

"Exciting night. I took five of those little snow globe things. They won't even be missed, and now four lucky people are going to get a Christmas presents from old Creed this year. Oh, and I saw Michael fight with Dwight, and then tear up over the temp's little scene. And I took pictures of the little chatty one looking like something the cat coughed up with a digital camera that I just happened to find laying around…in Toby's unlocked car. Good, good night. Now, if I could just find that lovely hearse that brought me here."

* * *

Kelly wrapped herself in her thickest most plush purple towel, and let the berry scented water drain from the tub. The bath had cleaned her up, but she was far from relaxed, despite the warm water and calming aroma of the bath beads and salts she had used.

Toby had brought her straight home. They hadn't talked much in the car. Neither knew what to say. Finally, he had spoken.

"_You believed him" He had began slowly "Through all your anger, and tears, for a split second, part of you, thought he was telling the truth. That he really…that he really loved you."_

_She had sat tracing the drops of hot summer rain that had begun to drop on the car window, silent. A few new tears falling down over the countless dried ones on her face._

"_I'm a sap," She finally admitted softly._

Toby said nothing else, she kept thinking he wanted to tell her something, but he stayed quiet the rest of the ride, and he had walked her to her door in silence too. They had awkwardly hugged, and agreed to talk at work on Monday, so she would have time to process everything.

Not processing anything any better than ever, she stared at herself in the foggy bathroom mirror. She looked better than she had an hour earlier. All signs of mascara had been washed away, and her skin was slightly wet, but otherwise smooth and blemish less. Her hair hung wet and sort of stringy. Normally she would be applying like six different 'miracle' serums to it so that it would be perfectly straight and shiny when it dried. Tonight though, she was just going to let it air dry. That could do lasting damage and all, but her hair didn't matter much right now.

She brushed her teeth really fast, and drained the excess water off her locks, before turning out the bathroom light and steeping out into her bedroom, which was directly connected. Still wrapped tightly in the towel, because she's never liked the insecurity of walking around naked.

He didn't have to say a word, she felt him in the room without even glancing right, toward her bed, and kept telling herself not to look in that direction.

"I have to find a new place for my hide-a-key." She breathed to herself aloud.

Ryan sat quietly in place on the edge of her bed.

"Won't do any good. You made me a key for Christmas, remember? I used that. You're hide-a-key is still planted in the hanging basket outside."

"I am an idiot" She mutters and walks to her dresser, still not looking at him, afraid to acknowledge his presence too much. "I'm going to have to change my locks."

"Kelly" He breathes heavily.

He's been waiting for her to come out of the bathroom for around forty-five minutes. He knew she would never let him in if he knocked, so he'd just used his key and chanced any laws he might be breaking. It couldn't be too illegal; he'd been given the key as a gift after all. It was one of those specialty ones you could have made. It was pink with loopy red hearts and a cursive 'R' engraved on the base.

"Just go Ryan" She says finally turning to face him "This isn't happening okay. Get some somewhere else."

"That's not why I'm here. You know why I'm here. I have to know you believe me. You do right? I mean, you've had time to think now, and you know it's the truth. That I lo-"

"Stop. Don't say it again." Kelly fumed "I have had time to think, and I just want you to know that I think it's pretty low, even for you, to use a word like that to try and get what you want. It's a bazillion times worse than stringing me along for over a year for God knows what reason. You never say those three words together unless you mean it and-"

"I do mean it" He insists, reaching out pulling her towards him, looking up into her eyes. "How many times do I have to say it for you to know it's true."

"Just never say it again and I'll be just fine" She says trying to pull away but his hands are firmly grasping hers, though not in a violent way.

"Why? Why don't you want to hear me say it again? Because you'll afraid you'll believe it? You don't have to be afraid Kelly, because you should believe it, it's true." He says and she shakes her head and tries jerking away more forcefully refusing to look in his eyes, because she know what he'd about to say, again, before he even forms it. "I love you Kelly. I do. No, stop shaking your head and trying to get away. Look at me. You know how hard it is for me to say that? It's like giving away a part of yourself"

She could almost scoff. Did she know ho hard it was to say that? Was he kidding? Trying doing it for over nine months, unrequitedly. Then, he could talk about hard.

"Say something. Please." He looks up her pleadingly, and she makes the mistake of looking into his eyes. He moves her hands to either side of his face and holds them there. Turning slightly for second to kiss the palm of her right hand softly. For once, he wanted her to talk, and she couldn't think of anything to say. She just stood there, knees wobbly, shaking.

"Go" She finally whispers, hating that she's letting tears start to fall again. Not the best way to illustrate rigid defiance.

"Tell me you feel the same way" Ryan presses, "Say that you love me. You've said it before, but I need to hear it now, I _need_ to."

Suddenly, she finds her voice again, and manages to slip her hands from his grasp, and walks a good distance away.

"You need me to say it? You need. It's always about what you need Ryan, always! You _need_ me to not touch you in front of your friends, you _need_ me to be completely silent when you're talking to your Mom, you _need_ to have time with the guys every single Saturday, you _need_ for me to stop talking about my day and just take my bra off already." She says, and he roughly rubs his temples, knowing every word she's saying is exactly how it has been.

"You know what Ryan? Screw what you _need_. I need you to get the heck out of here!" Kelly says, not quite as forcefully and scary as she wanted, but still loud enough that she probably woken up her downstairs neighbor Jill. She also wanted to say 'get the hell out' instead of heck, but she has an internal censor that only allows her so many swears a sentence, and screw is a pretty dirty word.

He doesn't know what, or if there's anything he can say to get her to listen, so he just sits there. She sees he has no plans on leaving, but she is already too tired of fighting with him, and frankly just tired. She lies down on the bed next to him, hoping he will do what's right if she just attempts to forget he's there, and leave.

He doesn't though. In fact, he lies back to, and props himself up with his hand so he can look at her, and starts running the back of his hand down her cheek.

"You love me," He says assuredly. Placing his hand over her heart "I feel it."

She ignores the gesture. "Does Karen love you to?"

"What? Who cares about Karen?"

"Obviously you care enough to have invited her tonight. Sorry you missed her, she showed up just after you left. "

Ryan looks confused. He had sort of asked Karen about maybe coming when they had went out Monday night, but he had made it clear to her on the phone the next day that he saw nothing happening between the two of them, and that he had feelings for someone else. She hadn't even been mad. She had told him that she'd had fun with him, but that she had feelings for someone else too (and he knew she meant Jim), and they both agreed to still be friends.

Kelly looked up at Ryan.

"Now that you know, why don't you go do this whole scene over at her house? Don't worry, I won't warn her that it's a crock."

"Kelly, I went out with Karen once-"

"And you asked her out before you even broke up with me...yeah, she was telling Jim and Pam what an item the two of you were tonight. So why don't you go to her house, okay"

"I'm sorry about emailing her okay. It's before I realized-"

"Before you realized how stupid I was, that I was stupid enough for you to just ask her out in front of me, and still keep me on the side. That I was so stupid you could walk all over me, and I'd still give you…no, _be happy_ to give you anything you wanted"

"You're not stupid Kelly, you just love me, and it's never a mistake to love somebody. Just don't give up on us now"

Ryan slides his hand back up to her face and turns it toward him, attempting to kiss her, but it's mostly one-sided, because she keeps her lips stiff under his. She's never done anything harder. But she continued to stay stone still as he plants several kisses on her forehead and along her cheekbone.

When he's gone back to caressing her face with his hand, she opens her eyes.

"There is no us anymore."

"Don't say that." He begs, and moves his fingers tenderly over her lips.

She takes a shallow breath.

"I mean it. Whatever this was we had going on, it's over. I'm done. So done."

He sits up. "Done. Just like that, you're done?" His voice is bitter, and hard now.

"Yeah. Just like that." She says strongly.

She sits up to, and does not allow herself even one more tear. It's time for him to leave. She can't do this anymore. She's not made of stone. If he stays, she's going to believe him; she's going to break.

He stands, and takes several breaths.

"After a year and three months, and I fall for you, now you're done?" He said incredulously " You know how screwed up that sounds?"

"It's how I feel. I'm just over this. I'm honestly over you."

He looks like he wants to hit somebody and cry at the same time, but she doesn't see this, because she looks toward the door.

"Well" He says darkly "Good for you."

He digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out the girly little key, that until tonight when he needed it, he had hated, and placed it hard on the top of her dresser.

"You and Toby be happy together." The tone of his voice suggesting anything but happiness. Sarcasm, his best weapon. Always.

Then, he left.

She followed him to her front door, and he looked back at her only briefly before she shut it after he steps over the threshold.

She did it. She was strong, and independent. She was a romantic sap, and a ditz, but she had not let him turn her into a bigger fool. She was a rock.

Kelly made it all the way back to her bedroom and managed to get into her lime green Minnie & Mickey pajama shorts and matching top, before she cried herself to sleep clutching her soft white stuffed penguin 'Dharma' (who had coincidentally been married to her pink flamingo Greg since she and Ryan started dating).


	10. As the plane came down

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of it. The show, characters, or lyrics.

**Authors Note: **Let it end there? A worthy idea I suppose, but n'ha. I'm a sap. I like the overly happy endings, so I'm going to hammer this story out until it has one. You can **pretend** it ended there though! Plus, I really feel like Kelly & Ryan are a very realistic couple. A complete girl's girl & a sarcastic, cynical semi-every guy. Opposites attract. I know that, _first hand_, lol. In love, you to take the good with the bad, _and_ the completely annoying XD

Once again, mucho thanks for all the reviews, and sorry for the day-delay in a fresh Chapter! Hectic day yesterday…I hate Tuesdays. This is a slow Chapter… hardly any angst, but I feel it's important to the furthering of the story, so here she is.

**_WARNING:_** Ryan has a heartfelt reunion this Chapter….//snicker// 

Without further ado….

* * *

**Chapter 10**

_As the plane came down. _

* * *

// Individual shot Ryan// 

"Corporate called me Saturday morning. I thought I was going to get the boot, but they actually offered me their sincerest apologies on what Michael and Dwight put me through. They reminded me that office relationships were not shined upon though. Doesn't matter. I don't have a relationship anymore. At all. Anyway, they thought I was going to quit, so they sent me a big fruit basket, and begged me to stay. They promised that Michael was going to have to go to anger counseling, or something like that. They just didn't understand when I told them that I _prefer_ hatred when it comes to him."

* * *

"_I'm done. So done."_

Done. How could she be done? He had just started to feel this deeply about her, or just realized it anyway, and now she wanted to be nothing. Just his luck. He lives through all her insanely clingy and infuriating Kelly-isms and right when he actually needs her to be there, she's the one who shakes him off. The world has no justice. Dunder-Mifflin had taught him that lesson well.

All this is still running through Ryan's head as he makes his way to Scranton Tuesday morning. He hates going there, but apparently they need him to reconnect with the staff there, since there is so much hostility. He dreads it, since all they're hostility is directed upon him. All of them, every single one of them hate his guts.

Not that he's ever given them any reason not to. He's been there almost two years, and never really connected with anyone, other than Kelly. Plus, there's that sarcasm thing and all. They just don't get it. His friends always found it endearing. It got him beat up in school, and even though he was pretty popular, and Student Body President, he remembered somebody writing 'smart ass' over his name on all his campaign posters.

Oh well. It's who he was. At least he wasn't a super freaky crazy like practically everyone at the Scranton office.

* * *

"As you all know, boy wonder will be here today around lunch to 'make nice' " Michael announces to the staff, gathered in the conference room. " I apologize to you for the inconvenience that him coming here will cause. Obviously corporate is more interested in his personal happiness than our productivity. It makes me wonder if they buy his suits and pay for his hookers as well." 

"He needs no help in the hooker area Michael" Dwight says coughing and making a glance toward a sullen Kelly.

"Are you making an insinuation? " Kelly asks curtly.

"Do not take offense. I blame none of these actions on you. You are an unwilling player in larger very sick game. Take your anger not out on me. I shall be your avenger. I plan to single handedly disassemble his reign of terror. With Michael of course. "

"I don't want you to do anything for me!" Kelly insists, "Just forget everything"

"Kelly, Kelly. You're so cute. Like a cute, naïve little tadpole." Michael smiles "But here at Dunder-Mifflin, though we are a friendly laid back bunch. We got to let the world know we're prepared to kick ass when ass needs to be kicked. And Ryan, he's just a big ass."

"Could you possibly use a different word?" Angela complains moodily.

"Sorry. _Beat_ ass. We will _beat_ ass when ass needs to be _beaten_. That sounds better right? Yeah. I like that better. It's a good slogan."

"Let's make shirts" Jim quips humorously.

Michael points. "Stellar idea."

Dwight sulks. "I thought it first. Except I thought hoodies."

"Hoodies? Dwight. God. You're a wuss."

" Can that please be on the back of his shirt?"

"Must I really be in here for this? I have a call on hold." Stanley complains irritably.

" Go on back to you're call Stanley, when Ryan gets here, I'll tell him to tell that sweet little daughter of yours I said 'hi'. Yeah, that's right Stanley; I went there, you know why? I had to go there." Stanley is glaring at him. "I had to go there, because sometimes Daddy needs to get rough with the kids to make them understand the seriousness of a situation. I mean do you want your daughter to end up like…. you know…"

Michael coughs incessantly, and finally Kelly gets up and goes out in a huff.

"Go cry it out " Michael encourages as she walks out " Just do it quietly, we're planning in here."

"I suggest we call our group of avengers 'Michael's Army'. MA for short." Dwight suggests.

Jim hates that he gets something that Dwight says, but Harry Potter is cool, even is it's one of _Dwight's_ favorites.

* * *

"_Because, I love you." _

_-------------------------_

"_You love me." He said placing his hand over her heart "I feel it."_

_-------------------------_

_"Just don't give up on us now"_

Not even retreating to the break room and re-touching her nail polish could keep Kelly's mind off of what had happened. She had been dong a good job, keeping a strong front all day long. She had heard that really sad Coldplay song, the one about losing 'something you can't replace' and had only felt like crying a little bit. Not only was it a depressing song, but Ryan had also loved that band. Kelly was never really into them, they were no O-Town or anything, but the lead singer was married to Gwentyh Paltrow, and she thought Apple and Moses were adorable names for kids.

But then Michael and Dwight had to call the entire office to the conference room to plan Ryan's 'doomsday' or something like that. The insensitivity of some people. It wasn't even like they really cared about what was going on between her and Ryan, which was nothing now, all they cared about was how he had went from being a temp to being Michael's boss in the blink of an eye.

To make matters worse, Toby was being all weird to her. He was avoiding her like the plague, and hadn't even noticed that she was wearing a brand new yellow blouse today, with frill and everything. She guessed he was just being nice, trying to giver her space and all, but still it would be nicer if wouldn't look at her with those looks her was giving her. She couldn't figure out if they were looks of guilt or pity. Pity was probably the best choice, since he had absolutely nothing to be guilty for.

She blew on her rosy nails lightly. Life sucked. This was worse than when Paris and Nicole stopped being friends. Who was she kidding, it was like _way_ worse. The door opened and Toby walked in with apoilte nod and smile. Great. More awkward silence.

"Hey" She said as he sat down at the table "Why aren't you in there giving Michael you're t-shirt size or something?"

"I got kicked out for breathing too loudly." Toby smiled.

Kelly couldn't help but laugh a little bit, despite the uneasiness that loomed.

"Plus, as the human resources representative, I really shouldn't be condoning such behavior anyway. I mean, plotting against the corporate manger? That's out there, even for Michael."

"Yeah. I wish they would all just get over it. Like I have" She lied.

"So…you heard from him at all?" Toby asked, tapping his fingers a bit nervously.

"Uhm. Not since Friday." Kelly said discreetly, not mentioning his nighttime visit. It hurt her to remember it, so she defiantly didn't want to explain it.

"I'm really sorry...about everything." Toby said sincerely.

"Don't apologize. Please. You had no idea that he would be waiting out there in the parking lot to totally ambush me."

"Uhhh…yeah." He looked away from her, and Kelly silently wondered if she had a hair out of place.

"I mean, it was pretty intense.. It was so weird. I think he'd been waiting there just hoping I would come out. And he had this crazy story about a love note he wrote me or something with an apology, which is total bull spit, because that is so something I would have noticed, and it is so unlike him. He never even called me for crying out loud, why would he think I would believe he wrote to me? "

Kelly jabbered on, momentarily lapsing back into normal habits, despite the intensity of this situation. Still, it felt good to actually talk about it out loud.

"And then he's telling me that he's in love with me and—" Kelly stops, and brings her hand abruptly under her nose, to stifle emotions she hadn't even felt arriving until she got to that sentence.

Toby sighed.

"Kelly I need to—"

"All right people, let's look alive. The enemy has entered the perimeters. Places please." Dwight shuffles in demanding.

"Places?" Kelly asks

'Yes. Had you shown team initiative and stayed in the conference room, you would know that we had a plan of massive proportions. One that is going to be the plan to beat all plans."

"Which is..?" Toby inquires, though in way, he doesn't even care.

"Ignore him." Dwight smiles wickedly.

Kelly and Toby display blank looks.

"Ignore him?" Toby asked, while Kelly actually hoped she had the will power to do that, but not because it was Michael's plan.

"Of course. It is a task everyone has completely agreed upon. We will work as usual, and even if he attempts to speak to one of us; we will not breathe a word back. We all hope you will comply as fully as everyone in the conference room agreed to." Dwight explains, he then turns to leave, but quickly adds "By the way, the shirts are going to be aqua. It was Creed's suggestion, and we already voted."

* * *

Ryan comes through the door his head down, rubbing his neck tensely as he is accustomed to. Dwight looks toward the camera and winks. 

Ryan hasn't even been the room one second when Jim looks up from his work.

"Good afternoon Ryan, I really hope you had a good drive. Michael's in his office, he would be over-joyed to see you now."

Dwight fumes, and knocks his chair over, mumbling something about the whole plan being ruined in mere seconds due to incompetence, and then adding something about lost t-shirt privileges.

* * *

//Individual shot Jim// 

" I know, I know. I should show a little allegiance here, but, come on… It was so easy. How could I _not _do it and live with myself? I think I saw Dwight cry a little, maybe. So it was totally worth it."

* * *

It's a bit later in the day, and Kelly is trying to work at her desk. Ryan has been there for a while, in Michael's office. She wonders exactly what's going on in there. 

"I hope he's not too mean to him" She says aloud, but totally didn't mean to.

Toby looks toward the front, but the blinds are closed so neither of them can see what is going on in the office.

Dwight appears near them smiling maliciously.

"If I know Michael, and believe me I know Michael, then he is putting a up an icier barrier than the Artic it's self. Ryan will not emerge from that office the same person. He will be forever changed by what happens in there."

Toby and Kelly exchange semi-terrified looks.

* * *

"Oh Ryan!" Michael wails, and is attached awkwardly to Ryan's middle, while Ryan just stands still as stone. "I've missed you sooooo much! I miss our closer-than brothers friendship, the chatting, the hanging, the coolness that was 'us.' I just want it back!" 

"I've told you five times now Michael, I do forgive you, completely."

"Even for calling you a punk? Because that was really low? And, I've said some worse things behind your back. Like that time on the phone, Angela really didn't have on a tight skirt…I was talking about you."

"Ow." He says, though of course, it's no shock…at all.

"I know. But I can change. Me without you just isn't right. We may have switched roles here, but I can hang with that, if we can just still…'be'"

" It's okay. No matter what has happened. We will always 'be'…something."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that" Michael says releasing him, drying his eyes with a tissue "And I wasn't crying there, I think I'm allergic to your fabric softener or something."

"Yeah. Well, anyway Michael, I'm going to need you to brace yourself for some news though."

"Oh god."

" I'm staying down here for the next few days to go over the years most important reports with you—"

"You need a place to crash? Because I've got an extra bedroom, we can stay up late talking in my room, and I could grill us some peanut butter and marshmallow paninis on my George Foreman and-"

"Michael corporate is paying my hotel expenses. Thanks anyway though. No, what I need to tell you is that after this week, I'm not going to be coming back down here anymore, at all. I've got it set up through corporate where all our conferences are going to be over calls, and if a physical body is ever needed down here, they've hired me an assistant especially for that. His name is Harvey."

Michael looks like somebody has kicked him the face.

"B-B-ut, you said we we're cool. I apologized, for everything. You…hate me that much?"

"No Michael. This is one hundred percent not about you, I promise."

"It's Dwight isn't it? I'll take care of him. He will never bother you. I'll make it so you never have to see his beady little eyes again, so neither of us do-"

"Michael, it's not about Dwight. It's about Kelly." Ryan says, though he didn't want o have to say her name. He should have expected it though, it being Michael and all.

"Kelly, what did she do? You aren't racist are y-…OH! I see…" Michael says managing to catch his error. "Well….I can take care of her some way, I'm sure. I'll just figure out what I was going to do with Dwight and do it to her."

"I don't want you to do anything to Kelly, okay? But, it is hard for me to be around her, I'll admit that. I think it's best for us both if I'm not around here, at all."

"But I'll miss you." Michael openly protests.

"I know. It just…you wouldn't understand. It hurts me, honestly physically hurts me to see her now that I know I've lost her. And I know it'll kill me to see her with Toby once they start up, whatever they're starting."

"Toby?! You're worried about him? B.F.D. Fight him for her."

"I—it's just not going to work. I would fight for her, if I thought for a second it would change her mind, but…"

"Ryan…every man has a Kelly."

"Yeah, you've told me that before, ad as much as I hate to say it, I've thought about it a lot, and I think I know what you mean…You're saying that every man has that one girl in his life that he takes for granted. The one who he doesn't even realize is everything he wants until he doesn't have her anymore. Every man has that woman .The one that gets away."

Michael nods philosophically. "That is exactly what I meant."

Both sit in silence for a moment, Ryan actually looking like he respects Michael for the first time ever.

"Bring it in." Michael says, opening his arms up for a wide bear hug. And for once, Ryan brings it in, without protest.

* * *

// Individual shot Michael// 

"I actually just meant that every man had a woman in his life period, but I like the way Ryan put it too. It's just a wordier, and completely different way of stressing my point. Either way, I'm glad my superior intellects on the world of women can help my young friend. I'll morph him into a Michael Scott yet. Well, not the 'real deal. There can only be one me."

Darryl walks near the shot, and he can be heard mumbling, "Thank the lord"

Michael smiles heartily at the camera, taking it as a compliment.

* * *


	11. He thought, Isn't this nice

**Disclaimer**: Don't own any of it. The show, characters, or lyrics.

**Authors Note:** Oh goodness, I had already decided for this to be the last Chapter before I read that last review! I've written this thing a hundred (okay, like five) different times, and finally got it to work. I sort of like it, but I'm not sure. 

I'm going to have a little Epilogue, and I'm pretty sure on some deleted scenes, and since you asked nicely, a SEQUEL. I'll need to think up a storyline first of course though!

Hope you like this final chapter. Don't be too sad, I'm obsessed with Kryan, and I have more fics/ficlets planned for them.

I've posted the first chapter to my new story 'Jilted' today. Not sure if it's going to be Kelly/Ryan, or more Kelly/Roy in the end. Don't worry, all my other fics will be Kryan, I love them, but it's an idea I had after reading something on the net, and just had to try.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

_He thought. "Well isn't this nice."_

* * *

//Individual shot Dwight…obviously very angry//

"The most terrible thing imaginable has happened. Michael Scott, the single greatest man I know, the man I have left a large chunk of my inheritance to, and entrust my very life to, has been penetrated by enemy forces. I knew that the temp has some strange hold over Michael, he has since day one, but I felt as if Michael had woken up. However, it became apparent when he exited his office with the smug little…Dementor, the Kiss of Death had been applied. I speak metaphorically of course; I actually believe he employed mind tricks. No worries. I will now helm the mission single handedly, as I do everything best. I will save Kelly, Michael, and most importantly the company."

* * *

It had been a little less than half an hour since Michael had emerged from his office teary eyed, patting Ryan on the back and had gave a long, and in his opinion heartfelt speech about 'The Prodigal Son.'(In direct contradiction of the comment he'd made about prodigals at the Prom) When everyone seemed a bit uneasy and reluctant, as showing of good faith, Michael had decided to take them all out for a company-sponsored lunch at Chili's. Ryan whispered that corporate hadn't approved that, and Michael just smiled that he'd use the money they'd given him for anger counseling, and they'd keep it on the 'DL.'

Everyone seemed much more apt to forgive and forget then. An awkward moment had passed when Kelly begged off from the lunch to catch up on callbacks, and Ryan had hung behind for a minute to talk to her in the hall just outside the office.

"You don't have to stay here and skip lunch because of me. I'm not going to bother you." Ryan said hesitantly.

"No. I really do have a lot of work. Plus, I'm sorry to say this out loud, but it's just totally hard to be around you right now. Given all that's happened." Kelly answered honestly.

"Yeah. I know what you mean" He agreed, and turned quickly to join the rest of the party, who Michael was stalling on the stairwell until their 'guest of honor' rejoined them.

As he walked away, Kelly wondered if he really did know what she meant.

She now sat at her desk, with absolutely no one to call back. The office felt strange when it was so empty. Only her and Toby were left. Or so she thought. Toby was never invited to anything. Since this morning in the break room, he'd not let himself spend one second alone with her, and though she knew he was not with everyone else, she had no idea where he'd gotten off to this time.

When she heard rummaging at his desk, she peeked around the partition.

"Where did you—Dwight? What are you doing at Toby's desk?" She asked lifting a surprised brow.

Dwight was hunkered over, searching like a rabid raccoon through one of Toby's lower desk drawers.

"Nothing that is of concern to anyone but myself." Dwight muttered manically, but cryptically explained "Toby has some...evidence I need to add to an ongoing file about some very important grievances going on here. Had he filed it properly, I would not be forced to hound dog it out in this way."

Kelly just rolled her eyes, and wondered if Dwight would ever give up on his little missions. He was probably looking for Toby's growing stack on Jim Halpert's behavior. Kelly had heard that Toby was thinking of getting a bird just so he could line their cages with the contents of those files, for lack of a better idea.

"Ha!" She heard Dwight proclaim. "Keeping it crumpled up behind his desk. I admit, that was a good plan. I shall do the same with my important documents from now on. Once I crack the code to this falsetto note, it could be the end of Ryan"

Kelly perked back up.

"Did you say that was a note that had to do with Ryan?"

"Once again, this is a private matter." Dwight glared. "However, if you must now it is a very important document from Ryan that happened to intercept."

"Did you happen to intercept it right off my desk? " Kelly asked, coming toward him eyeing him accusingly.

"I cannot disclose it's exact original whereabouts" Dwight said, but Kelly already knew what this letter was.

"Hand it over." Kelly said holding out her hand.

"Kelly, I need this for my file. If you get it, you'll just look at the face value of it, and no deeper. Trust me, I am trying to save y—"

"Give it to me, or so help me I will pinch you!" She squealed, and Dwight dropped like a hot potato, and ran.

Kelly's pinches really hurt.

She picked up the crumpled letter, and read. Ryan wasn't lying. He really had left her a note the day he had been here. She read over it at least a dozen times. As simple as it was, it melted her heart. He had committed it to writing, days before the Prom. It hadn't just been an ultra desperate attempt to get laid…he wanted her.

She shook her head, snapping to for the hundredth time. His note changed nothing. Ryan had messed up his second chance in New York. A little note couldn't make up for all the neglect. It just couldn't.

A glittery chime sound let her know that she had text message, and she opened it quickly.

' _I changed my mind. I'm going to fight '_

_From: Ryan_

* * *

About fifteen minutes before texting Kelly, Ryan had been standing outside the Chili's, by him self.

"Every man has a Kelly." He breathed into the wind. The saying made so much sense now. He couldn't believe it was something that had came out of Michael's mouth. So simple, but so true. Not the former child star's usual style at all.

"What was that?" A friendly voice asked from behind.

Ryan turned to see Jim walking up to him.

"Michael sent me to see where you'd gotten to.. He told the staff it was your birthday, and now he has a fudge cake and singers in there, and you're no where to be found." Jim smiled

Ryan smiled back weakly. "Just when I think he's grown up a little."

Jim shakes his head agreeing. "So…every man has a Kelly? That your new mantra?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. It was...well, it was actually advice from Michael. I know, it sounds crazy, but it really does fit. I mean, every guy has a girl that gets away."

"Well, every now and then Michael accidentally stumbles onto gold. But, I think you've got it a little wrong."

"How so?"

" Girls don't just get away. You either let them get away, or you fight to keep them. It's nature's law."

"It's not like that with Kelly. It's to late to fight. You said it yourself, I messed up."

"Yeah, but that's before I got to thinking, you're a guy. Not the greatest guy I know, but just a guy. A guy who I would wager has never been in love before."

"Is that obvious?"

"Brutally obvious" Jim laughed, "Anyway, love makes everybody act like fools, especially guys. It's this weird, deep emotion that we have no idea what to do with, so we try to bury it, cover it up, because it's foreign to us. Then, most of the time, when we realize it, it's just to late. To late, unless we're strong enough to fight for it, and make a go at it, no matter what."

Ryan thought this over for a second and nodded. "Fight." He pondered.

"Fight for you're right to love." Jim repeated in a singsong voice, channeling his best Akon.

"Where do I even start?" He said blowing.

"Oh, you have to pull out the big guns"

"The big guns?"

"Yeah. The big 'ol mushy guns."

* * *

Shaking off Ryan's text, and Toby's apparent betrayal, Kelly headed toward the reception island to borrow some of Pam's paper clips (she was trying to busy herself with unnecessary filing), when she noted she was not alone in the office.

A woman was standing by the reception area looking a little lost, and unsure. The woman was a bit taller than Kelly, but most women were. She had regal features, sharp cheekbones, and defined eyes, but Kelly felt a warmness about her, perhaps caused by the light wrinkling around her piercing blue eyes. Her hair was a raven colored (save some mild graying) and long, it looked naturally curly, and Kelly noted that a frizz reduction wash would help it out a lot. She was wearing stylish jeans, and an over-sized pink knit sweater, and Kelly also thought her look was a bit out dated, but that was enough mental criticizing for one visitor.

After all, the woman did have an overall sweet air about her.

"Uh, can I help you? Kelly asked the woman brightly, and the woman instantly smiled warmly back.

"Maybe…could you please introduce me to Kelly Ka---poor?" She asked, a bit unsure of the last name, she'd only heard it once, over the cell phone just a few minutes ago.

"That's me!" She said just as cheerily, though she was now thrown. Why was this lady looking for her?

The woman looked her over really good, and smiled fondly.

"Hi, I'm Vivian Howard." The woman offered a long, thin hand for Kelly to shake, and just as Kelly was about to, the woman changed her mind and went in for a hug. It didn't bother Kelly. She liked hugs. This one was a little surprising, but the older woman embraced Kelly so dearly that she couldn't help but hold tightly back, when the woman did pull back she blushed a bit.

"I'm so sorry about that. It's just…my son has never told me loved anybody before…and apparently you are the woman he's given his heart to."

* * *

What a day. Kelly had been on such a roller coaster of emotions; she just had no idea what to think anymore.

She didn't know what was right where Ryan was concerned anymore. He'd screwed up so bad; he didn't deserve any more chances. This was the truth, but some how that little mechanism in her that told her what was right and wrong was broken, because it was telling her to trust Ryan this time. Hearts sucked.

With this same heart though, she had forgiven Toby earlier when he confessed everything before she could even screech at him. He told her how bad he felt, and how it had seemed right at the time. She was his friend, he had insisted, he just wanted to protect her.

In that same conversation they had decided that that's exactly what they were, friends. Whether Kelly was going back to Ryan or not, Toby was not going to be an obstacle. He would, as he had promised, always look out for her.

That was so sweet. Even if he had declined her offer to rejoin her in the cubicle, even if she cleaned real good.

"_It's a bad allergy. It won't go away. Believe me, I've really tried" He had assured her. And he had, really given it a try lately. _

When the rest of the staff had returned from eating earlier in the day, Ryan had not been with them. Kelly wondered if he was hiding out, scared his little trick of sending his Mom to break her down hadn't worked.

God. He didn't know how much it had worked.

Kelly had adored that woman. It was like; she was all the truly great parts about Ryan, without the sour, cynical after taste. In their short conversation, Vivian had explained that his stubbornness and slight streak of superiority had come from his father's side of the family.

Mrs. Howard had also assured her that when Ryan decided to pursue something, he went after with his whole heart. Kelly had just laughed and said that when it came to Ryan's heart, she was in the dark, because he never wanted to talk about anything deeper than the day when they were together.

"_No man wants to discuss his feelings" Vivian assured her. "But I wills say one thing, my son has never, ever told a girl he loved her before. Not that I've met at least."_

Not long after that, the woman had left Kelly with another bone crushing hug.

Now that she was alone in the parking lot, unlocking her car, she was to deep in thought to hear approaching footsteps, so his voice was the first thing she heard."

"Elijah Thomas Howard"

She whirled around to see Ryan standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"What was that?"

"You asked me…a couple dozen times what I would want to name a son. I never gave you a serious thought out reply. There's my answer."

Kelly slightly wondered what made that better than Hanson Cruise Howard, which was her latest personal favorite, but she didn't say anything. She couldn't help but smile.

"And I've always saw myself getting married in the fall" He said moving toward her and her car. "I hate the hot weather."

"Hmm." She nodded, an undecipherable look.

"I think John Cusack is a better actor than Keanu Reeves, but neither of them are a Bruce Willis " Ryan kept spilling "And, no, I really didn't think it was that dumb in Say Anything when he said he wanted his job to be loving Diane Court. I get where he was coming from."

Kelly nodded, still silent, unreadable.

"Oh, and Tom jumping on that couch on Oprah. Not crazy, completely romantic."

"Anything else." She finally said.

"No" He breathed heavily "Except that I am truly, madly, and deeply in love with you, and I'm not, and I mean I refuse to just walk away and lose you."

"Truly, madly, deeply" She repeated a bit skeptically, taking a breath. "Sounds fishy."

He ignored that.

"You like my Mom?"

"She's really sweet. Unlike some people I know" Kelly replied, "That was a low blow though."

"Man's got to do, what a man's got to do. I don't know how many times you begged to meet her before."

Kelly nodded, and looked at the ground.

He reached out for one of her limp hands, and expected her toss his away, but she didn't, so he squeezed tight while he still could.

"What are you thinking?" He asked after a few minutes, and she looked up at his eyes.

'Thinking I'm pretty stupid for what I'm thinking about doing"

"Which is?"

Releasing his hand, and running both hers up the back of his neck, she pulled him into a long, sweet, lip-bruising kiss.

"I like Elijah, but lose the Thomas" She said, after regaining her breath.

"Anything you say" He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist, and backing her against her car, kissing her strongly one more time.

"Wait a second" She said, coming up for air again. "Don't think this means all is forgotten."

"I know" Ryan said, not easing up on his hold at all "I've got a lot to make up for."

"Exactly" She agreed, eskimo kissing him without force for once. He was happy with any physical contact with her right now "And I guess I can be a little less clingy"

"No" Ryan demanded, having had enough distance from her for the last while. He would just deal with it, no matter how bad it got. No matter if she had him getting married within the year. He looked deep in her eyes "Cling to me."

She smiled, and curled her fingers up around his shoulders. Ryan happily noted that she had the bubbly Kelly air back on now.

"You're so cute" She giggled, and pecked his cheek.

"Is that the only reason you like me?" Ryan asked, cocking a brow.

"I don't _like_ you" She beamed "I love you."

He smiled back. He was getting used to smiling.

"Good." He sighed resting his forehead against hers, locking eyes. "So.."

"So" She repeated gripping his shoulders tightly.

"So…we're in love" He said slowly.

"Wow." Kelly breathed "I always wanted to hear you say stuff like this. "I never imagined exactly how good it would feel."

"Get used to it" Ryan promised. "Because I now consider it my job to make you feel good, all the time."

Kelly grimaced. "You're job." She said worriedly. "You live in New York now."

"Ehhh, not for long" Ryan smiled.

"Ryan Bailey Howard, what did you do."

"I made the grand gesture…I quit."

Kelly could barely believe her ears.

"Oh Ryan! You quit for me? That is so romantic! You'll be poor now, and I can take care of you, and buy you stuff and it will be just like-"

"Kelly, slow down, I'm not out of a job."

"You're not?"

"No…I'm just sort of demoted. After I called my Mom and asked her to go meet the love of my life and plead my case, I went into the city and met Karen"

"What!?" She said pushing him away.

"Cool it. I met her at corporate, and I went in with her, and fully explained everything to Wallace. And, while I was there, just to push the matter, I vouched for Karen. I figured if I helped them get somebody new, they'd let me have my old job back, and they did. It's set up through Michael and everything. Starting tomorrow morning, we're cubicle mates again."

Kelly had no idea what to say. It was too much like movie. But, it was all-real, it was really happening.

Ryan smiled, and kissed her shocked face gently.

"Say it just one more time, and then I'll be okay" She begged.

He sighed, but congenially.

"I love you."

"I love you…what?" Kelly asked lilting her voice.

"I love you…Kelliflower" He said, grimacing, but only slightly.

"And I love you Ryanoceros! So much." Kelly practically squealed, and tackled him into a hug.

They kissed, passionately, for what seemed like hours.

"Oh, you need to beat up Dwight."

"What for?" He asked nonchalantly, clutching her hands.

"They're need to be a reason?" She asked laughing, and resolving to tell him the whole story later. "Let's get to my place. We can still catch the end of America's Next Top Model."

But, when they got to her place, they didn't even bother touching the television, all night.

* * *

//Individual shot Kelly//

"Ohmigosh! He loves me! We are soooo much cuter than Brangie, and TomKat, and even Bennifer! Yeah, eat your heart out Bennifer; Ryan and me are the ultimate cutest couple. I've got to call my sisters, and my Mom and Dad, and my Aunt, and My great-grandma. Oh, and my Aunt Ari's neighbors. They're so sweet. "

She pauses to squeal.

"My babies are going to be gorgeous!"

* * *

//Individual shot Ryan//

He looks at the camera in normal blank Ryan-fashion for a moment. Slowly, his signature look turns into a big grin, and a blush, and he hangs his head, still smiling.

* * *

//Individual shot Michael//

"Well, the world is as it should be. I am so happy that Ryan and Kelly are back together. I mean, there is no bigger high for me. They're no Will and Jada, but they're okay. Oh, and bonus, I get Karen Fillipelli as a boss! So, I guess in conflict resolution talk, this would option 5. Win, win_, win_. We **all **win."

* * *

_**Fin.**_


End file.
